Finding A Reason To Stay
by LocoAndDeep
Summary: Parker found a way into Eliot's heart through his stomach. Now that he's seen her in a new light, he's finding reasons to stay with her... Instead of letting her go.
1. Chapter 1

The job went to hell in a hand basket that afternoon… Parker wasn't sure how it happened. She sure knew it wasn't her fault. She'd gotten what she'd needed to negatively affect the mark. She heard it over the com from Eliot to get out while she could. She could hear men yelling and Eliot making comments before all she could hear were his grunts. Something told her to run into danger this time… When she'd found the group of men attacking their hitter and Eliot was down… And Eliot never lost a fight, as far as she knew. She couldn't see his injuries because his back was to her face. He was a lump of flesh and bone on the ground in almost a complete fetal position; very clearly unconscious. Parker saw red. She began to attack using her gymnastic skills and her compact, pocket-size Taser. Eliot had taught her how to use it defensive and offensively. In short order she had all of the men down and tied up before she called for help.

"Guys, we need help. Eliot is down. Blood, lots of blood," she saw. He probably had several broken ribs as well.

"Where are you, Mama?" Hardison queried.

"Tenth floor stairwell, I think his leg is broken. The bone's like stickin' out and everything."

"Parker, have you got a belt?" Nate asked.

"I do now."

"Put it around his leg to stem the bleeding and tighten it as much as you can. We're coming."

In spite of her strength, Parker knew there was no way she could carry Eliot out of the building and she couldn't very well drag him down ten flights of stairs on her own. Jumping with him over the railing wasn't an option either…The man was simply too heavy and currently unconscious. She said a silent prayer that they both would be okay as she changed out of her gear for a normal t-shirt and jeans. Five minutes later, Hardison was the first to arrive; then Nate. The two men helped to get Eliot's leg wrapped to help stem the bleeding beyond Eliot's belt. They needed to cover their tracks as best they could and leaving blood behind wasn't a good idea, but they had no time to clean it up. Parker and Nate helped get Eliot up. Then the decision was made to put him on Hardison's back. Hunched over, Hardison carried Eliot down five flights of stairs. Then the three of them stopped and then Nate carried him the other five. Parker was on survival mode as she followed the three men and steeled herself for a possible fight if more security guards caught them.

Sophie was already down in the getaway van; as Lucille was in the shop getting the belts, hoses, and all filters replaced. She had the engine of the twin sister of Lucille, Louise, warmed up and ready to head to the nearest hospital. There was no way Eliot was just going to go home and nurse these wounds himself. Hardison was already mentally creating names and backgrounds for Eliot and Parker. He couldn't very well put them down as a couple or he would screw himself out of a relationship, so the two became Bethany and Lazarus Ford. Nate and Sophie were to play their Uncle Patrick and Aunt Ophelia. Lazar had fallen off a bucking bronco on the family's ranch. The horse had attacked him and broken his leg. They weren't sure what other injuries he had but they had managed to get the horse away from him before more damage could be done. They got him into the back and Nate took a seat in the back to check Eliot over. Hardison took the passenger seat next to Sophie and Parker stayed with Nate and Eliot. There was no way she would leave him now…

Nate changed the bandages with Parker's help and a little over ten minutes later they sailed into the emergency carport entrance of the nearest hospital. He popped out of the back and went with Sophie to get help. Hardison came around to the back on his way to the driver's side and saw Eliot's head cradled in Parker's lap. Her thumb stroked his cheek as she whispered something to him softly. Alec couldn't make it out fully but it sounded like a poem. He really didn't know what to think. She hadn't done as much as that with him… He filed the moment away and took over the driving position. After he left, nurses and the ER doctor on duty came out to retrieve Eliot. The inside of the back of the van was decorated like it was meant to be a camper. There was a table in the corner where four persons could sit and eat on the built in seats. On the other wall was a small sink and stove. There were compartments everywhere for them to hide Parker and Hardison's gear or Sophie's outfits. Eliot even had an arsenal of weapons hidden in the upper spaces; no bigger than elongated glove compartments.

The emergency team couldn't fit the gurney inside the back; instead they managed to get a board under him so that four people could lift him out. Nate went inside to handle the insurance part of their plan and Sophie stayed behind with Parker. She took one look at her teammate and became worried. Parker was staring at her hands now covered with Eliot's blood because she had tried to stem the blood loss. Sophie climbed in and sat down next to her, not bothering to smooth her expensive dress. Then she put her arm around her and gently told her that Eliot would be all right. That Nate was looking after him while they were out there in the emergency room. Something made Parker snap out of her trance… She jumped up, ran out of the open back of the van, and Sophie chased after her. Nate had her by the biceps by the time she caught up to her and was trying to calm Bethany down. No, she couldn't see Lazarus. They were taking good care of him and they would come get them if anything changed. The British woman helped pull Bethany down and into a chair. She sat down next to her and then Nate suggested that she go take their teammate to get washed up. Parker wanted to stay put but the blood had already dried onto her hands.

Outside, Hardison had driven away after he got out and closed the back doors himself. He couldn't stay there because ambulances were also authorized to park there. He stayed put and worked on the critical files that the hospital needed. He didn't blame Eliot for what he saw with Parker. He couldn't really because his friend was unaware of the goings on in the real world. When Alec had finished the tasks he was working on, he turned the sleep mode on for his laptop, and locked up Louise before he headed off to the emergency room. He tucked his IPad into his backpack when he entered through the sliding glass doors. Then he looked up and spotted Nate, sitting alone against a wall, and flipping through an old golfing magazine. He grabbed the empty seat next to an empty spot that was next to Nate.

"What's goin' on?"

"He's getting x-rayed and scanned about now. Then they'll have to take him up to the OR to fix his leg and ribs. Then he'll have to be put in several casts to keep him from overdoing it. He's gonna have to take it easy."

"Yeah, man… For more than six months by the sounds of it. Hopefully those ribs didn't hit anything air worthy."

Nate closed the magazine un-entranced by any of the articles inside. He tossed it to the seat between him and Hardison.

"I'll be back. Sophie and Parker should be back soon."

"Where you goin'?"

"I have to see a man about a favor," Alec was a bit confused but he nodded in acceptance anyway.

Nate escaped to the hospital's chapel. He pushed open the unlocked door and found the small room empty. It had eight rows of pews and a simple cherry colored wooden cross attached to the wall; white lights shone up to highlight the wood and its grain. A few stained glass windows hung on two walls to feign windows, but he didn't pay them any mind. He moved up the center aisle toward the second pew on the right. He knelt a moment and crossed himself like a good Catholic boy before he eased his backside into the hard wood bench. Consciously sitting far enough, in the middle of the pew, because he knew at some point he'd be receiving company. Nate looked up at the cross and crossed himself again before he bowed his head.

'Father God, I don't know where to begin. You took my son, my marriage, my job, my alcohol, and my father. I feel like your servant, Job, the one you took everything from. Eliot Spencer is a good man. True, a poor sinner like me, but I'm asking you for a favor. Just please, heal his body. Parker needs him, hell, I need him. He's a good friend, better than I have been to him, definitely. So, I'm asking for you to return him to the team, whole. You know he can't make it without you. Comfort Parker's heart and give us all strength. We're going to need help to carry on. That's all I'm asking for,' Nate prayed silently in his head. 'Amen.'

He opened his eyes and stared at the cross; hoping for some kind of instant answer to come. But it didn't. Instead he heard the door open behind him. He knew it was Sophie; she had a 'distinctive' pace to her walk as Eliot would say. Nate sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. He tried to think about the job they were on and how things went wrong… Looking to place blame somewhere… But he felt too distracted with the extra presence in the room.

Sophie had left Parker with Hardison when they returned from the restroom. She knew how it was when it came to Nate and hospitals. Alec had told her that Nate had wandered off and something about getting a favor from some unnamed man. She had an idea pop up in her head and she went on the hunt. The chapel was on the same floor according to the posted map on the wall in the hall just outside the emergency waiting room. She peeked in the 8x11 small window and saw the man in question. Sophie debated disturbing him or leaving him alone for just a fraction before disturbing him won. She knew he would be rehashing the past in his mind and or beating himself up for what happened to Eliot. If she didn't stop him he'd end up fighting with a bottle of scotch. She walked in and the carpet muffled the sounds of her shoes, but she knew that he knew she was there.

"What is it Soph?"

"I thought I might find you in here," it sounded so cliché even to her ears.

She winced at her statement before she gently sat on the pew next to her lover and teammate. Sophie didn't say a word as she took his left hand and held it in both of hers in her lap. So much had been said with the simple act of friendship. She was trying to be a good listener for him and wait for him to open up to her. If she could get him to talk, then maybe she'd keep him on the wagon. Getting him to give up drinking had been a monumental task and she wasn't about to let him back slide now…

"How's Parker," he asked, clearly avoiding any topic she wanted to discuss.

"She's shaken, but she'll be okay I think. Hardison's taking care of her while I'm gone," she put her right arm around him and put her head on his shoulder.

"Dynamics of the team are going to change."

"What? How?"

"Hardison is going to lose Parker and Eliot is gaining a girlfriend by the time this situation ends."

Sophie didn't say a word in response because she had seen it in Parker's eyes as she looked at her reflection in the mirror of the women's restroom. She hadn't called her on it because she wanted to see what was going to play out a little first. Personally, Hardison just wasn't Parker's kind. And after the many conversations she'd had with the thief about their relationship… It just wasn't going to work. And the sooner one of them realized it; maybe the pain of the break up wouldn't break up the team.

"What should we do about it?"

"Do? I'm not sure there's anything to do at this point. Without Eliot it's kinda pointless to meddle."

They sat there together in companionable silence; still neither one wanted to approach the subject of how Nate was feeling. Nate said another silent prayer with his thoughts while Sophie said one of each for the whole team with her thoughts. Then she felt Nate's arm come around her shoulder and she sighed. He was finally reaching out to her and suddenly the outside world seemed far away. That somehow they were above all their problems.

"We should head back," she spoke.


	2. Chapter 2

This is my first venture into Leverage Fan Fiction and I hope you all enjoy this piece. Sorry it's not beta read. Mistakes are all mine. You feed my muses with your reviews… So please don't let Parker go without her fortune cookies and cereal. Don't keep Eliot away from cooking his fantastic meals. Don't let Sophie miss her tea… Let's keep Nate on the wagon and we have to keep Hardison supplied with orange soda!

A BIG thank you to my reviewers, followers, and favorite pickers so far… This chapter is for you!

I don't own the characters of Leverage. I don't own the poem by Shel Silverstein. They belong to The Powers That Aren't Me… I just wanted to borrow them for a little bit and I will return them unharmed when I am done.  
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Meanwhile, up in the operating room upstairs, there was a buzzing team of doctors and nurses around Lazarus Ford trying to repair every possible injury; undergoing surgery to temporarily put metal and pins in his leg to help stabilize the bone that had broken. While they had his chest open trying to repair the four ribs that had broken and punctured both lungs, Eliot flat-lined… Immediately they brought him back with a couple shocks directly to his heart using the shock wands. The doctors began to work faster. Fortunately, of the four ribs that had broken, only two were dangerously harming his lungs. Just as they finished that repair, he flat-lined once more. It was a little longer in death the second time before they brought him back. The surgical assistant sewed him up as best he could with all the drainage tubes. The last ones to be taken care of were his fractured right arm and his fractured right leg. They were set in casts and the rest of him was bandaged to keep the stitching stable. He was immediately taken into the PACU (Post Anesthesia Care Unit). Eliot was on a breathing tube to help the nicks on his lungs heal. He had tubes coming from just above his stomach to help drain his chest and the fluid buildup in his lungs.

In the emergency waiting room a nurse finally came to the door.

"Family for Lazarus Ford," the woman announced loud enough over the mounted to the wall television across the room.

Nate and the others jumped up and went as quickly as they could to the open doorway.

"Come with me."

"How is Lazar doing," Nate asked once the door closed.

"I'm sorry, I don't know exactly. I was just sent to come bring you to the PACU waiting room on the third floor."

They all followed the nurse silently through the halls to the elevator and then into the small room with a dozen uncomfortable chairs. Old magazines and tissue boxes littered the tables around the room. Sophie walked Parker to a chair and helped her sit. She worried that Parker wasn't talking… To anyone. She worried that she was clinging to her more. She considered taking her down to the cafeteria to get her something sweet to help calm Parker's nerves. Or maybe she just needed to get herself some coffee. Nate tried to distract himself by talking with Hardison out in the hall about what they had left to do on the job that just put their teammate near death's door. About an hour later the OR surgeon in charge finally came out to talk with the 'family.' He had been busy filling out the chart and checking in on other patients that he had worked on in the morning.

"Family for Mr. Ford," he asked. Nate felt a chill run down his spine as he thought of his father and Hardison came up behind him as Sophie brought Parker.

"I'm Patrick Ford and this is my wife Ophelia. This is our niece Bethany and her boyfriend, Morgan," Nate lied as he stood next to the well-skilled surgeon, who was in his early 50's.

"Your nephew is very lucky I was at work today. We were able to repair all the injuries… He's got a fractured right leg, two punctured lungs, four broken ribs, a broken left leg, and a fractured right arm. However, he isn't out of the woods yet. He died on the table twice. The second time lasted longer than the last but we were able to shock his heart into a proper pulsation. Right now, the next twenty-four hours will be crucial. He will be moved to ICU in a few more hours."

"Can we see him," Sophie asked as she held Parker.

"Yes, one at a time and not for more than an hour. A nurse will come and get you once he is settled in the PACU. I must warn you, he has drainage tubes and he is on a ventilator to help him breathe. So far, that is only temporary. Please be careful around him. If he makes it, he will need to spend some time in a hyperbaric chamber in the RICU (Respiratory Intensive Care Unit) to help his lungs heal. Right now he is in a drug induced coma to help his body heal. We will bring him out of the coma in a few days."

"Will he have brain damage from his deaths?" Nate needed to know.

"Impossible to say at this point. We did try our best to get him back before the brain felt the blood loss."

Parker felt numb. Eliot had died twice. It just didn't seem possible. She'd heard Hardison try to tell her that Eliot was her brother Lazarus and after she'd heard what the doctor said, he was living up to his temporary moniker. She felt tears begin to form in her eyes and she turned her face away from the group. She put her head back on Sophie's shoulder. Would Eliot ever be right again? They were talking about brain damage! She decided alone that the others would see him first. Then she would go and to hell with them if they wouldn't let her stay longer than an hour. She could hide in the air ducts if she had to; even those would be as close to sterile as they could get. They had to be, to deliver the freshest air for the patients to breathe. Satisfied she'd gotten Sophie's shoulder a little wet and left a tear spot on her dress, Parker finally left her friend's grasp and hit the Kleenex box to clean up the evidence of the emotions on her face. She noticed the surgeon had left them and her three friends where having a conclave out in the hall. From what she could read of their lips, Nate was worried about Eliot and her mental state. Sophie was worried about Nate and everybody's emotional state, and Alec… Alec was just worried about the job they'd nearly just completed.

The realization shot straight to her heart. Why wasn't her boyfriend worried about her? Wasn't he supposed to worry about her? Wasn't that what boyfriends and girlfriends did for each other in a crisis? And she reminded herself that when it came down to it that money didn't come first when it came to her 'family,' not anymore; not since Eliot could have been lost for good; lost for the good they did for others. Her mind took over as her heart shut down its control board. In her mind, she and Hardison were over. She decided she needed to talk to Sophie later before she made it official. The more she pondered her decision, the further she went back in their relationship Parker realized that she had been pulling away from him slowly. She spent more time in keeping in shape and honing her skills than taking the time to answer his calls or text messages. True, she would get to them later when she was ready but the point was… Well she didn't answer them in the timely manner Alec had in his mind. Since they'd started going out, she noticed he'd become more possessive like that.

A strange question popped in her mind… Had Hardison snapped her up for himself because Eliot was his competition? She was the only single woman to be had. Sophie was taken, sort of. Tara? Well, she wasn't around much. And he knew that Eliot was a charmer when it came to the ladies…

When Eliot had lost consciousness during the fight he felt like he was falling, the air rushing into his face, and blackness surrounded his vision. He couldn't see a thing. Then from out of nowhere he heard a voice reach him. It sounded familiar… And then he had to realize that it was Parker. She was talking to him in short sentences.

"There is a place where the sidewalk ends  
And before the street begins,  
And there the grass grown soft and white,  
And there the sun burns crimson bright,  
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight  
To cool in the peppermint wind."

Her words seemed to create this relaxing image in his mind to consider. She must have made the collection of words askew to add the Parker brand of crazy in.

"Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black  
And the dark street winds and bends.  
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow  
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,  
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go  
To the place where the sidewalk ends."

The more she spoke to him, it was oddly calming. He seemed to relax and instead of floating in the blackness, he had begun to explore this world she had suggested. Pain seemed to be a distant memory. Everything seemed to be a distant memory other than her voice… Her voice kept pulling him to where the chalk-white arrows were on the street he was traveling upon.

"Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,  
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,  
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know  
The place where the sidewalk ends."

As he walked measured and slow, he began to see the innocent children he'd killed for Damien Moreau. They lined up on each side of the dark street bent and twisted. Their faces were dead pale with blood stains from their injuries on their clothing and faces. They all pointed for him to go down the street. The song of Elysium played lowly in the background. Eliot kept going until he visualized Parker there, waiting for him in a pastel green sundress, one hand held out to him while the other held a bouquet of asphalt flowers; yellow dandelions. Her beautiful blond hair pulled back and yet it rested on her shoulders in wavy curls; two wavy tendrils framed her face. Her face seemed so pale but there was a light pink hue just to make her look alive. He took her hand in his; they walked together slow and measured.

He kept hearing her voice repeat the sentences until they suddenly stopped. He couldn't hear her voice anymore. Eliot began to panic a little as the gentle vision of Parker and the strange world disappeared and he was once again floating in the darkness. When he heard voices again, there were people yelling his vital signs and discussing his injuries. But then there was nothing he could do about it… He couldn't move! The drugs of the anesthesiologist saw to that. Soon those voices went away too. While on the operating table, when he suddenly flat-lined, the blackness cleared and he could suddenly see him on the slab, his chest and leg open as the surgeons tried to correct his injuries. Nurses hovered around them with the needed supplies. He didn't understand though… Why would he be looking at himself away from his body? Was he dead? The incessant cry of the heart rate monitor seemed to confirm this… He watched as they shocked his heart and then he was back in the blackness. He didn't understand what was happening… Was he still dead? Had they brought him back? Eliot began to panic once more, what about his friends? What was happening to Parker, Sophie, Hardison, and most of all Nate? He tried to force himself to believe that they were okay as air blew past his face.

Then he was back looking at himself again and he looked at the clock on the wall. He'd been in the shadows for at least a half hour. He worried as he watched them try to shock him back to life again… This time it didn't take the first few tries. Eliot found himself willing his heart to beat again. Then suddenly it began to beat again. He sighed when he went back into the black.

By the time the PACU nurse came out to get the family for Mr. Lazarus Ford another hour had passed. Parker couldn't sit anymore after her decision to talk to Sophie about her relationship with Alec, so she began to wear a rut around the small room. Hardison was out in Louise going through Parker's gear looking for the flash drive that Eliot had risked his life for. He found it and began to upload it as he thought about the cold shoulder he began to feel from Parker when she wouldn't let him stop her from her wearing a hole into the carpet. She was clearly upset but he knew her and it was wise not to push her to open up. Nate had gone to fetch coffees for him and the two women. The nurse took Sophie because Parker as Bethany told her to go first and that she would send her uncle in to relieve her when he came back. A few minutes after her, 'Aunt Ophelia,' went in to see her, 'Brother Lazarus,' her, 'Uncle Patrick,' returned with the warm caffeinated liquids. She was still pacing a rut in the floor and every step wore a rut in her mind.

"Parker, where's your Aunt?"

"With him," she replied in, 'Parker,' code, in case someone overheard them.

"Why didn't you go in first?"

"I can't."

"Why not?"


	3. Chapter 3

** A/N - Morgan is reference to Morgan Freeman, not the actual actor. Just borrowing the name, you know, like Denzel.**

**Thank you for all of my reviewers and followers! You're keeping my muses fed!**

**ENJOY!**

"Because I'm, because I'm thinking."

"'Bout what?" She ceased pacing.

Parker went and sat next to him. He held her a tall coffee paper cup. It had a peppermint bark milk chocolate bar melted into it. He thought it might be a good idea to help her nerves to get her something sweet since her cereal stash was back at his place above the brew pub.

"I can talk to you right," she spoke to him and looked upon him with narrowed eyes; he nodded.

She acted as if others around them were listening, though she and Nate were the only people in the room. Visiting hours had ended two hours ago and the surgeon had left instructions to let them stay. Parker took a sip of the coffee and smiled at the surprise Nate had inside the cup. She'd never really explained to the others her need for sugar… It helped bring forth the serotonin to help communicate the feeling of calm all over her body while stabilizing her moods. Then the endorphins would hit and it sent high levels of energy to the brain. Parker would suddenly feel the rush of euphoria descend all over her body. It was the same kind of euphoria she felt when she dived off of the rooftops of buildings, or when she successfully broke into a safe she didn't think she could crack.

"Why is it that men treat women like property?"

Nate looked at her funny; that wasn't helping.

"Because they don't want to lose us once they've knocked us over the head... It's a Neanderthal thing, I think," Sophie spoke, "Isn't that right, Nate?"

"I'll go see how our nephew is doing," he nervously avoided the question and handed Sophie her coffee.

Sophie took up the seat that Nate had vacated. She sighed as she relaxed into the seat. Someday, just maybe she'd get him to propose to her… Now, on to dealing with Parker. The thief had seemingly lost her somewhere in thought. Sophie wondered where a question like that had come from. She believed things were good between the nimble pickpocket and the hacker. Maybe Nathan Ford was right… Maybe the relationship wasn't on stable ground.

"Bethany, how are you feeling," she asked and kept up their cover in case hospital staff overheard them.

"Nate got me chocolate, I'm fine," she avoided the question.

"Asking about property doesn't sound like you're fine, tell your Auntie Ophelia."

"You know Ophelia killed herself, right?"

"Yes, Bethany, I know Shakespeare. Things all right between you and um…"

"No… I don't think so. I don't want to talk about it now, 'kay?"

"All right, when you're ready… You know where to find me."

"How did he look?"

Sophie considered her responsibility in the conversation. Should she tell Parker that Eliot looked bad? The surgeon had been right; tubes and wires were everywhere. His face looked a little on the paler side, but she saw the bag of blood hanging on the IV Pole by the bed. The nurse said he was scheduled for a transfusion of blood twice a day now that he was out of surgery. They had his beautiful hair tucked into a cap instead of cutting it. Sophie knew that Nate was going to have a rough go of it when he saw Eliot. It would surely pull out memories of his son in the hospital.

"Don't sugar coat it, I wanna know," Parker said when she noticed Sophie's hesitation.

"He doesn't look good… He looks bloody hell terrible. The surgeon wasn't kidding; there are wires and tubes everywhere. I touched his uninjured arm and his skin was cold. If you touch him long enough you can feel the warm start to radiate from your hand to his flesh. I couldn't help but think he was suddenly going to sit up and start pulling things out."

Parker began to slowly process what Sophie had said; her thought skills seemed a bit off, slower somehow. It didn't seem possible since Nate had brought her leaded coffee instead of the decaffeinated kind. She felt like the energizer bunny. Eliot might not make it… That's what she heard from Sophie; she'd tuned most of the rest of what she'd said out. She couldn't deal with that part right then. She would need a major stockpile of sugary foods before she dealt with that reality. So, for now, she'd focus on the healing power of the blood transfusions. She wouldn't pray because ever since she'd been on her own, she didn't believe in God. What kind of God wanted her to be abused and abandoned in the foster care system? She stood when she noticed her paper coffee cup was empty and moved to the trash can by the door.

"Walk with me."

Sophie followed Parker out into the hall, unsure of where her friend was headed. Parker walked with her harms behind her back, fingers interlaced. She didn't talk as she walked down the hall; thoughts seemed all over the place. A few minutes into their walk she finally opened up.

"Earlier, did Hardison tell you or Nate that he was worried about me?"

"Not exactly."

"I read him, Sophie, like you taught me to spot a mark. He seemed more concerned with the job than Eliot or I. Aren't boyfriends supposed to worry about their girlfriends in a crisis?" Parker paused a few moments in her speech for dramatic effect. "I think I'm done trying to be his girlfriend."

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah. I think I am. He's been kind of… Um… Controlling."

"How so?"

"He wants me to answer his calls and emails right away. He gets upset when I don't and turns on that GPS thing. Sometimes I can't get back to him because I'm busy. I usually answer them later, but he

"He wants me to answer his calls and emails right away. He gets upset when I don't. Sometimes I can't get back to him because I'm busy. I usually answer them later, but he sounds upset when I get back to him. He doesn't trust me; especially not when it comes to getting him down safely from a building. I am good at what I do. I've conceded that he's just not into jumping like I am. He keeps trying to pull me in to that video game stuff, I get bored, and I'm just not into it. Just like I can't pull him into my continual adrenaline rush or my, 'death wish,' as he calls it. I noticed the other day after we destroyed the Value More's location, he was more possessive around me, put his arm around me and all, especially in front of Eliot. When I felt that arm around me, it felt wrong somehow…

"And…"

"And, and, I value his friendship. Always have, since the beginning. He's like a brother. And after I lost one, he's the closest thing I have to a new one."

"Have you talked to him about all this?"

"No. I'm not sure I want to break up with him right now, with Eliot's condition and all. But I don't want to wait too long. Eliot is going to need help. I don't want Alec to get all mad at me if we're still together while I help him."

"But Parker, we're all going to be here to help him. It's not just going to be you. I don't know if any of us could handle taking care of our friend without needing help," Sophie wouldn't dream of leaving the two alone with all of the injuries the hitter faced recovery from.

"I think I can, I think I can, I think I can…" Parker thought of that little train. "Wooo, Wooo."

"Be serious a minute here, you need to talk with Hardison. He deserves that much."

"I don't want to rip our family apart…"

Sophie was not so sure that possibility was not going to happen. Hardison would be hurt, but would he leave the team? And what about Eliot? He wouldn't go for Parker if he knew she was still Alec's. She knew he wouldn't want any of the team there to help him; it would be seen as an act of humiliating weakness. His training wouldn't allow for weakness or emotion. But Nate seemed so sure that changes were coming…

"How do you feel about Eliot?"

"I… I don't know. I don't want to talk about that yet."

Parker really wasn't ready to discuss Eliot and her yet. Somehow she felt she needed privacy still and so the jury on that kind of thinking was out for a recess.

"Okay, when you're ready. You know where I will be."

"Aren't you going home with Uncle Pat?"

"I'm staying. Morgan is at Pat's place and Pat will be going there when he's done with our nephew."

They completed the circle around the hallways of the PACU quietly and ended back up at the small waiting room. Parker sat down on a double seat without the arm rest in the center and curled into a ball. Sophie as went to a small cabinet in the corner under the television that a nurse inside the PACU ward had told her about on the way out from her visit with Lazarus. She pulled out a couple blankets and two pillows before she came back to Parker. She gave her a blanket and tucked her in on the double seat before she put a pillow under the thief's head. Then she curled up on another elongated seat and went to sleep. Neither woman noticed when Nate slipped out about an hour later.

Nate went back home to the Bridgeport from Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center. The brew pub was dark as he went through the back door in the alley. He locked it behind him for good measure before he went upstairs to his apartment. Hardison was already there and working on closing up the job for Nate's approval. Nate came in and went to his room where he kept his private stash of alcohol. He didn't care about the others at that point. His body was on a one track mind schedule… And the mind craved alcohol like the desert needed rain. He had been through so much in one day that he needed to drown out his pain; not even Hardison could stop him from his little pity party. Looking at Eliot in that bed made memories project in hallucinatory visions; as if it were Sam in that bed. Several times he'd had to close his eyes and shake his head like the memory would erase out like an Etch-A-Sketch. He took the chair that Sophie had been in and took a couple deep breaths. He had to breathe or fall down a rabbit hole of emotion. His backside slid into the chair and he sat facing Eliot's right ear. Nate couldn't touch the man's arm but he knew that he could talk to him and try to reassure him that things would be okay.

"I don't know where to begin… Well, not exactly. We need you to come back to us, especially for Sophie and Parker. Hardison's finishing up the last details of the job. He'll be contacting the client in the morning. Clifford Dobrofsky is in jail as we speak. So, you didn't fight in vain."

Nate heard Eliot's pulse jump a little higher before it settled back down.

"I hate to admit it, but Parker saved your ass… You owe her now, man. You heal first, and then we talk. Got it? You're gonna need time off and nothing will be booked until you get out of here in one piece."


	4. Chapter 4

Parker woke up about 90 minutes after she'd gone to sleep in the waiting room. She sat up and spotted Sophie asleep on her own bench. She stood and stretched a little; nothing on the television but infomercials; the usual boring stuff for a waiting room. She spotted the cabinet under the ceiling-mounted flat-screen television… The base seemed wide enough… She opened the door and pulled the last pillow off of the shelf above the blankets shelf. Parker wrapped her frame up in the thermal blanket Sophie had gotten for her and climbed into the cabinet; her backside resting on the pillow. She brought the pillow the Grifter had gotten for her and rested her head against the wall to her right. She managed to get the door closed and soon she returned to sleep again. Being inside the closet helped to make her feel safe from the reality of the outside world.

Shortly before dawn, Sophie woke up and noticed that Parker was missing. She began to look around... No sign at first, but then she heard breathing sounds coming from the cabinet in the corner. She too stretched her aching body and folded up her blanket before she went to check her theory of where Parker had disappeared to. Very gently, she pried the door open to peek inside and she spotted Parker's blond hair.

'Poor girl,' she thought to herself.

Sophie decided that she needed to wake her teammate up before housekeeping came to refill the cabinet with fresh supplies. She opened the door fully and knelt down on both knees to wake up the sleeping woman.

"Parker, sweetie, time to wake up now," she softly spoke, low enough so that no one would know that she wasn't Bethany Ford.

She hadn't meant to startle Parker but she awoke with a start.

"Huh, what?"

"Time to get up, it's almost dawn and things are going to start to get busy around here. I understand why you're in here but the hospital staff wouldn't so I came to move you out of here."

"Um, sorry, help me up," Parker took Sophie's hand and stood.

"Do you need anything?"

"Something leaded would be nice. Is anyone here?"

"No, Nate and Hardison aren't here yet. Official visiting hours don't start until nine, which is about four hours from now."

"Oh. Can I go see Eliot then?"

"No, you'll have to wait the four hours."

"But I can't wait that long…" she started to act like a little girl, where every minute seemed like an eternity.

Sophie noticed that she began to look around the room and frowned. She figured that Parker was upset that the air vents in the waiting room were too small. So, instead she distracted her…

"Come on with me, we'll go for a walk down to get that leaded liquid."

Meanwhile, in the PACU ward, Eliot was in trouble… He had been floating in the black with the wind rushing up into his face, like skydiving, when he suddenly could see his body hooked up to several tubes and wires. He was alone and there were machines going off. Then suddenly, in came the nurses and the doctor on duty. His heart was in the middle of a bradycardiac attack, which meant that his heart had slowed down to fewer than 55 beats per minute. And he was quickly going into cardiac arrest if they didn't do something quickly. As they called a Code Blue, the doctor on duty called for a nurse to get him a syringe with a dose of atropine to put into his intravenous line… It was supposed to help increase the firing of the sinoatrial node in the right atrium of the heart and thus was the generator of normal sinus rhythm. Then it conducted a wave of excitation to the atrioventricular node in the heart. That action helped to activate the atrioventricular node to delay the impulse by 0.12 seconds. They were trying to get Eliot's heart to increase the beating. Using atropine also opposed the actions of the vagus nerve, blocked acetylcholine receptor sides and decreased bronchial secretions, which meant that Eliot's lungs wouldn't fill with fluids that cause the death rattle.

Unfortunately, the atropine wasn't working; intravenous inotrope infusion of dopamine and epinephrine was called for. Then as the medications were being given through his IV, transcutaneous pacing was being set up. The nurses placed electrode patches on Eliot's chest and the crash cart began to charge. Using the electrodes was quicker than having to charge the big paddles. When the machine shocked his heart they didn't quite get it to regulate so they did it once more and got it right. To their credit, the team got him back within the five minutes before brain damage could occur. Eliot had been clinically dead now, 3 times. He was back to skydiving in the blackness without a parachute or one of Parker's harnesses. He sighed because he knew he was alive as long as he stayed in the darkness.

Parker heard them calling the, 'Code Blue,' to room 2A and she froze as she looked at Sophie. Both of the women had the abrupt look of shock on their faces. Then they ran back down the hall to the double doors where people entered the ward to see if they could see anything. They saw the crash cart being wheeled into Eliot's room. They couldn't see what they were doing in the small private room.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god! Sophie help," Parker cried out as her knees began to give out under her.

"Bloody hell," she heard Sophie yell as she managed to catch the thief before she hit the cold linoleum tiled floor.

Sophie helped her get to the waiting room as the call came through to cancel the, 'Code Blue in 2A.'

Parker worried what that meant…

"Oh god, Sophie, what does that mean? Is he dead? Did he make it?" She began to sob.

She could see the tears forming in Sophie's eyes as she tried to think of an answer.

"Just stay here. I will go find out what's going on, and nobody's gonna bloody hell stop me until I find out," she stood up and marched off.

First call Sophie made was to Nate… It went to voicemail because he was sleeping off his little bender.

"Nate, you need to get here, Eliot's taking a turn for the worse. Never mind, I'll call Hardison."

She dialed the Hacker's cell number. Hardison was up and playing World of Warcraft to take his mind off of the situation and the possibility of the downfall of his relationship with Parker.

"Alec?"

"Yeah Soph?" He sounded distracted and it kind of pissed her off.

"Eliot took a turn for the bloody hell worse. You should get down here. Where's Nate?"

"Shit, shit, shit. Nate's sleeping. He hit the bottle as soon as he came in the door."

Sophie wasn't too surprised. She knew he was going to have a rough go of it going in to see Eliot. She hoped that he would have called her once he got back to his apartment above the brew pub and she might have been able to convince him to stay away from the hard stuff.

"Get him out of bed as best you can, pump him full of coffee, and get his arse here. Parker isn't taking this recent development very well. She nearly fainted… I'm off to get answers."

"I'll get us there as soon as I can, promise."

"He's gotta pull through this…"

"He will Soph, he will. He's a hitter and a fighter. He's gotta pull through so I can kick his ass for putting us all through this nightmare."

"Get in line, Hardison…" She spoke and hung up.

Sophie went to the black phone mounted on the wall and dialed the number to get put through to the nurses station. Visiting hours be damned, her friend was possibly dying inside the PACU rooms.

"Hello?"

"I need to speak with someone about what's happening with my nephew in 2A. Preferably immediately. His sister Bethany and I heard the Code Blue call. She nearly fainted."

"I'll send the doctor on duty out in just a moment."

"What's going on?" Sophie noticed that the nurse hesitated in responding. She knew the news wasn't good. "How soon can we see him?

"Ma'am, I can't tell you anything definitively until the doctor in charge fills out the report."

"Bloody hell," Sophie slammed the phone back to the base in frustration. A few seconds later she felt bad, the nurse had only been following protocol.

She went back to sit with Parker in the waiting room. Parker had changed the television channel to CNN and wrapped herself in a fresh blanket from the cabinet. Sophie sat down at Parker's head and she put her friend's head in her lap. She slowly fingered the thief's blonde hair, stroking her scalp from time to time. It was soothing to them both. Her impatience and frustration left her as she stroked Parker's hair.

"I'm sorry, they wouldn't answer my queries. We have to wait for the doctor on duty to come out. Apparently, there's paperwork to be done first."

"Oh."

"I called Nate and then I called Hardison to sober up Nate and bring them both here."

"Maybe third time's the charm…" Parker said in a random thought.

"What do you mean?"

"He's died three times now. Maybe this was the last one and he'll get better from now on…" Parker yawned as she was getting sleepy from the Grifter's ministrations.

"We don't know that for sure yet," Sophie hoped that Eliot hadn't died, because if they didn't revive him within 5 minutes, he could have brain damage. She knew that from dating a doctor before she met Nathan Ford.

"Come on, he went into cardiac arrest. Doesn't that mean death?"


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N this is for lmiller19 who convinced me that this story needed to be longer... And I only had 4 chapters written! So, that being said, I convinced my muses to go long and they seemed to go with the idea so far. They may regret it later, but I caught them in a happy mood when I talked them into it.**

**So this is part 1 of yawl's Christmas present from me and my Leverage muses. The other half will be posted on Sunday, so you'll have time to read before Christmas Eve! So enjoy and please keep my muses fed with your reviews! Seems like I get chapters out of them faster when they have full tummies!**

Thirty long and agonizing minutes later, by sunrise at 6:14a.m., Eliot was holding his own; his heart rate had stabilized. The physician that had brought him back from death had finally finished writing down his observations in the chart for the future doctors in charge of his care. He walked out through the mechanized double doors, headed straight for the waiting room after the nurse told him that Mr. Ford's family was waiting to speak with him.

Immediately, Sophie stiffened when she saw the doctor come toward them and Parker suddenly woke. She sat up when she saw exactly what Sophie had. She grabbed Sophie's hand, braced herself for any bad news.

"How is he," Sophie asked because Parker couldn't find the words first.

The poor man sighed, "Stable, finally. We are going to have to wean him off of the coma-inducing medicines we have him on to help him heal. Sometimes the body can react to them and become bradycardic, which is what happened tonight."

"Bradycardic?" Parker asked.

"It means the heart slows down below 60 beats per minute. Your brother went close to 50 and we had to restart his heart. He died for three minutes as we tried to get his heart started again. We did revive him at the last possible second. I can't say for certain, but I believe he shouldn't have any lasting brain damage."

"When can I see him," Parker finally spoke before Sophie could.

She turned on her big puppy dog eye look on the doctor and he caved before he said a word.

"I shouldn't allow you in so soon after this last heart event, at least not for an hour. However, you are his sister and I don't think it would hurt if you stayed very quiet. I'll take you in with me now if you have no more questions."

"Can I talk to him?"

"Don't say anything to upset him or spike his heart rate; that could send him into a tachycardic event. His heart could beat too fast and we might not be able to stabilize it again. It would have to be slowed down. He's had deaths already from his heart not wanting to beat normally. He may have heart tissue damage developing."

"Understood, Doctor Milton. I'll tell my husband, her uncle Pat, when he arrives with her boyfriend in a bit."

"Good, I know you'll be careful."

"What happens when he leaves here? I mean if he gets better…"

"He will be transported to the ICU for a while until he will move to the RICU, where he'll go under therapy to help him breath, to help his lungs heal."

"And then?"

"Bethany, one thing at a time love," Sophie had to slow her down. They only needed one goal at a time.

"'Kay," she sounded so child-like.

"The thing to remember is that he's stable and should make it through the morning. We have him on several monitors and nurses around the clock watching his progress.

"Thank you doctor," Sophie spoke.

Parker stood and stuck out her hand for the man to shake, a total Parker thing to do. She'd forgotten that he was going to take her back with him. The physician stood and shook Bethany's hand before he turned to go; apparently, he had forgotten as well.

After he left the two women, Parker began to pace the floor again. The thoughts in her mind were going in circles like Formula One cars on a small track; no twists and turns, just a straight loop. She turned to Sophie…

"I have to go in. I can't wait."

"No one's stopping you, go. I'll wait for Nate and Hardison," Sophie's voice hidden by the television.

Fortunately, Dr. Milton waited for her at the double doors. Okay, so maybe he hadn't forgotten. He'd called the nurse to be aware that Mr. Lazarus Ford's sister Bethany would be coming in to see her brother. She had his permission to stay as long as she didn't cause him distress. Parker saw the doctor and was glad that he hadn't disappeared on her. He smiled at her, in his young 40's way. Bethany smiled sheepishly back. She hoped he wasn't trying to come on to her. One boyfriend was enough… He led her to the room marked 2A. Time seemed to stand still as he walked in before her. She froze at the doorway. She wasn't ready for this… Yes, she was. No, she wasn't.

'Yes, I am…' She thought, 'He needs me. He needs me to do this for him. No horses. He needs me to be here.'

The doctor looked at her, unsure if she was ready. Parker steeled her nerves and took the first step into the private room. Then another and another until she came up to the curtain blocking the view from the door. Dr. Milton moved over to the right side of the bed and began to listen to Eliot's chest with his black stethoscope. Parker took a look at Eliot and her breath caught in her throat. He had the sheet and thermal blanket pulled up to the base of his neck. The bed was at a 30 degree angle to keep fluid from collecting in his lungs but not so high that his heart had to pump harder to force the blood to his brain. His arms weren't visible as they were under the covers as well, one still in a cast. She forced herself to take a breath before she moved around the foot board of the bed. She pulled up the hard metal framed chair near the window and took a seat. His legs were in casts as well, she couldn't see his wrapped ribs, or the drains to keep fluid out of his chest. All of this caused by overzealous security guards with steel-toed boots and batons… And maybe a few Tasers of some kind; otherwise Eliot wouldn't have gone down without more of a fight.

"It's all right; you can talk to him as much as you want. I am a firm believer that my comatose patients can hear what we say."

Parker dug under the sheet and found his hand. It was lukewarm; the blood trying to warm it as best it could.

"I'll leave you some privacy. The nurse will be in to check his vitals at seven o'clock," he could see she was on the verge of tears. He went over, grabbed the tissue box off of the bedside table against the wall, and handed them to Bethany.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

The room became silent again except for the beeping machines and Parker looked at his left hand. It was bruised and had a few cuts that had been healing under small strips of suture tape. She could see a two to three stitches on each knuckle under the tape. A part of her was almost afraid to touch his flesh, but she'd remembered how she used to tease him by poking his bruises, and suddenly the tears cut loose. She cried silently as she gently picked up his hand and softly kissed each one of the injuries. Parker stopped a moment and dabbed her eyes and nose so she wouldn't look a mess when anyone came in. Then she wrapped her hand around his thumb in a hold like she wanted to hand wrestle, but she wanted him to feel her warmth.

Out in the waiting room, Sophie couldn't sleep. She was worried about Hardison getting Nate to sober up so he could drive them both to the hospital. Out of the blue, she had this feeling like she needed to know that Nate was okay. It was a dilemma! If she called Hardison's cell phone, and he was driving? Well… They could end up in an accident, that's what. If she called Nate's cell phone to get him to haul his ass to hospital regardless of his past with one, he could get mad at her and go back to the bottle. She couldn't call him up and ream him a new one because he drank, that would make the situation worse. She didn't blame him for getting drunk; bloody hell, she would have gone home and done it with him if she didn't have to stay and look after Parker. Just as she thought about leaving to get some coffee, Hardison popped his head around the corner.

Nate followed behind with a couple tall cups of coffee from a 24 hour Starbucks. Hardison had gotten him up and drowned him in a pot of coffee at his place before he talked him into getting back to the hospital because Eliot may not make it through the rest of the morning. When he heard that, Nate sobered up and asked to stop at the 24 hour Starbucks on the way to the hospital. If he was going back into the dungeon, he was going to need some stronger coffee. He bought Sophie's favorite as an apology for leaving her alone with Parker all night.

"How is he," Nate asked as he handed Sophie her cup. "Your favorite from your favorite coffee place."

"It was horrible. We saw them roll in the crash cart. He died again. Parker think's that third time's the charm. They stabilized his heart beat for now. He's being closely monitored. He may have heart muscle damage."

"Brain damage?"

"Can't be certain. They think his body was reacting to the drugs they used to put him in the coma. The physician said they're going to have to wean him off. He said that he became Brady-something and they revived him at the last possible second."

"Bradycardia… Serious, sounds like he went into cardiac arrest," and Sophie nodded in the affirmative.

Hardison took a seat across from Nate and Sophie; put his backpack on the seat next to him as if he was saving it… He kept quiet as he woke up himself after having been up all night.

"Parker's in with Eliot now," she whispered low. "God Nate, I thought we were going to have to put her in the hospital as well when she heard the Code Blue."

"She'll be okay now that she's with him," Nate tried to sooth her nerves. "Did he say more?"

"If he does well from now on, he should be moved to the regular ICU for a while before he moves to the RICU for his lung therapy. He wouldn't say more than that because I cut him off. I told Bethany that we should take one goal at a time."

"What are we gonna do, man? He's not gonna be able to fight anymore, not like he used to anyway. One boot or fist to his chest and that's all she wrote. Or one Taser to the chest and it could kill his heart," Alec voiced his concerns.

"Just like Sophie told Parker, we're gonna take one day at a time."

Hardison went back to nursing his two liter bottle of orange soda and wondered how he was going to see him and Parker through this. She was his girl after all. They were brothers in crime and he knew Eliot wouldn't consciously take his girl away from him. But then brothers had been known to get in fights over beautiful women…


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N Thank you to all my reviewers! Merry Christmas! I hope you enjoy your gift! Please keep feeding my muses with your reviews! Otherwise Eliot won't get strong enough to get out of bed!**

Parker softly pressed her cheek in to the back of Eliot's hand. Fortunately, the other hand with the fractured arm attached had the IV line in it. She held his uninjured left arm close to her chest, not too tight because she didn't want to hurt him. Time flew and she hadn't said a word to him yet because her mind was at a loss for words. It was almost time for the nurse to come in and take Eliot's vitals. She saw the date written on a dry erase board on the wall and remembered that it was a new moon soon. New moons were a magical time of beginnings in one's life. It meant that one could recharge their goals or set new ones once a month. She'd learned some things about magic when she'd finally gotten introduced to Archie's children. One of his daughters was a Wiccan. Her father didn't approve of her lifestyle, but that didn't stop Parker learning a few easy rituals to do on her own. Just because she didn't believe in God, didn't mean that she couldn't believe in the power of the universe. She needed her sacred supplies from her warehouse. She wouldn't leave Eliot to go to her altar at the warehouse, so she'd have to make do with the bedside table against the wall.

One handed she reached into her pocket pulled out her cell phone. She sent a text to Sophie about what she needed. She didn't say why and told her that she had to be back by 8:30 in the morning. When she finished texting Sophie, she wondered how she was going to burn the sage around the room with Eliot on oxygen. Well, maybe she could be quick and maybe she could lie and say it was her perfume. Now all she would have to do is find a place to take her ritual bath of sea salt to clear her field of any negative energy. She touched the flesh of his forearm and it was a touch colder than his hand. Parker tucked his arm back under the blanket and kept his hand pressed to her cheek as she put her head down to the bedside. She began to visualize what a love life with Eliot might be like. It was obvious that it would look nothing like it had been with Alec. They had fooled around but neither of them had been ready to cross that intercourse line with each other. Maybe that had been the problem? If she wasn't ready, then he backed off. If she was ready, he wasn't. So, was it more of a problem of timing? Maybe, but the biggest issue was Alec's control issues.

Hell, at the near middle of the Value!More job, he wouldn't let her put her arm around his neck. He kept pushing her away… It didn't matter to her that she was being a distraction, Alec had pushed her away and she didn't like it. Eliot would have teased her back a little. She had come to understand after talking to Sophie, that Hardison was the type of person that had to create and control the environment he was in. He was trying to turn life into a video game. On one hand he could create the perfect environment to live in with his computer skills, fixing traffic tickets, embezzling money from outrageously rich business men, buying expensive cars, more video games, or even more equipment to help him control his created life. When he played video games he controlled every action that his character had to do. Even though he didn't create the world the game began with, he could control what world the character created for him to play in. It began to make sense to Parker that maybe he had seen all of them as characters in one of his video games. But this was one life-like video game Parker didn't want to be in any more. She wanted someone who got her, deep down, and that was only two people. Sophie and Eliot… And Sophie was already snapped up. So that left Eliot; and as far as she knew he was still single.

Parker had found out about Eliot's little rendezvous with the redhead after the job at Value!More had ended, by reading his lips as she stood near the window in the candy store. Hardison was off shopping to fill his gummy frog fix. She'd noticed something wasn't right with Eliot when he'd tried to talk her and Hardison into taking the job before he talked Nate and Sophie into it. The way she looked at him during the assignment meeting should have given him a clue she was worried about him. Before he'd left the girl she knew he was going out of town. When she'd told Alec that she was worried about Eliot's attitude, Hardison had broken the Bro Code and let slip some of the information that Eliot had shared about his past. The job finally made sense; Eliot was missing his dad… So, it made perfect sense that he disappeared after he'd gone to see the red head that hired Martin. Martin reminded him of his father. With the little bit of Hardison training she had on computers, Parker had tracked Eliot to his father's place outside Oklahoma City, using GPS. And the fact that he'd only stayed 15 minutes before he'd hit the road again.

Somehow she'd known the trip to see his dad was going to be a bust, and that was confirmed when he'd come back to the hotel they were staying at. He'd tracked her to the hotel they'd been staying at. He texted her when he'd been within 5 miles of her location to find out what she was up to… She'd gotten her own room instead of shacking up with Hardison to allow him his much needed World of Warcraft time, but she'd said she wanted to stay at the hotel for a couple more days. He'd offered to stay with her, but she wanted some time on her own. So, he'd gone home to more gaming without her. Eliot had gotten in just after the dinner hour. He softly knocked on her door and she'd let him in. They sat in chairs next to a small wooden table and talked over an extra six pack he'd bought if things went south. She'd ordered them room service because he hadn't eaten; just driven straight through. They'd sat up for a few hours before the night ended at midnight. She didn't know that he'd called the girl from the road and confirmed his date for Saturday, the next day. Not much of what Eliot had said made much sense since it was mixed with alcohol and emotion, and she hadn't experienced some of what he said, but she'd picked and chose what was important to get a decent picture of what he was trying to say.

In some ways, she was glad she hadn't had a real family. It seemed there was much more pain having one than it did living without. She couldn't even really call Archie Leach her father. He was more like a boss, so was Nate. But there were rare times when she witnessed Nate's father-like qualities come out, especially when Eliot and Hardison were bickering at each other. After his fourth beer to her two, she put him to bed in her bed; tucked him in and everything. Her face beamed with a smile. He'd needed a friend and he'd picked her… Out of all of them, he'd picked her. Parker's heart swelled with pride. She recalled what he said to her in the ice cave… 'The two of us, we do things that they can't, won't.' 'It makes us, us. Now you can take that as a gift or you can take it as a curse.' She chose to make it a gift, a little something between them she figured the others might not understand. Then she turned on her heel, grabbed an extra pillow and blanket from the upper part of the closet before she made herself a bed in the bottom of the closet. She closed the door and relaxed in the darkness.

Parker pictured normal nights of just staying in with Eliot, dinner and a movie sprang to mind. He could make her something fantastic and she had dibs on picking the movie. And she'd always pick something he'd be happy to watch. Parker didn't really know the meaning of chick-flick… Sophie was a bit lax in her training of that subject. There were only so many action, science fiction, dramas, and historical movies she wanted to watch on Netflix. She could see them getting a dog. She could see lots of the softer Not-So-Badass Eliot… Cuddle Eliot… Kissy Eliot wouldn't be so bad either. Parker envisioned BIG, she couldn't help but see her in a white wedding dress. Eliot, handsome as ever in a spiffy tuxedo with his long hair down on his shoulders. Hardison behind him, smiling as his best man. Nate and Sophie would be sitting on her side as her stand in parents. Archie too, if he lived that long… Her friend Peggy and Tara might get asked to be a bridesmaid. And on Eliot's side, maybe his dad if her dreams came true. Some of Eliot's buddies might get invited too if they didn't cause trouble. A very small wedding, in deed. She didn't picture the location yet because there wasn't a need for a venue.

As she was doing her little visualization exercise, a little girl with brown hair ran by… And then a little boy with blond hair chased after her in Parker's vision. The little girl reminded her of her and the boy looked a little like a young Eliot. She wasn't sure where they came from but they were dressed like Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. She looked down in her vision and she was wearing that white bird dress that she wore on the job where Eliot sang. He hadn't sung since that job and from time to time she'd hear him singing in her mind because she missed it. It helped calm her down… It was a nice contrast to him yelling, "Dammit Hardison!" Or arguing with Nate for not being on top of his game or arguing with her for pulling another stupid stunt that could get them all shot… Parker just wanted him to wake up and argue with her again. She understood that he yelled at her to prove that he cared about her. Otherwise, he wouldn't have said a word.

At that, Parker opened her eyes because she heard someone coming into the room.

"Oh, good morning, you must be Bethany."

"Yes."

"I'm here to take your brother's vitals and then the phlebotomist will be in a few minutes after that to get some blood samples."

"Oh."

"You should go stretch your legs for a few minutes, maybe go get some breakfast. The cafeteria's open."

"I'm not hungry," she continued to hold Eliot's hand.

"Or you can stay, but I need to be where you are so that I can take his blood pressure, sweetie."

"Oh. 'Kay," Parker was afraid to leave him alone considering there were people out there that wanted Eliot dead, but this nurse was probably in her early 50's and was pretty kind.

She stood and pushed the chair away so that she could move out of the way. She stood over by Eliot's feet, her hand touched his blanket covered foot. Touching him kept her grounded, as if she felt like he'd float away if she wasn't there to hold him down. She wondered if by touching him, he could feel she was there. She wasn't sure he'd even heard her voice other than what she'd said to the nurse. Parker watched as she gently lifted Eliot's arm and wrapped the cuff around it. She hit a button and the motor started; the cuff filled with air.

"One-hundred over sixty-five. It's still low but it's pretty good from where it was just a while ago. He went down to fifty-two over twenty-one earlier. That's when they had to come restart his heart."

"Wow. Where is it supposed to be?"

"Perfect would be a little less than one-hundred and twenty over say seventy-five."

"How long will it take him to get there?"

"I'm not a doctor, but he's still got a ways to go. He has to get his systolic number, the upper one, up. The bottom number, the diastolic seems to be recovering well. Your brother still has a long way to heal yet. We're taking one day at a time."

"That's what my Aunt Ophelia said."

"Well, she's right," the nurse replied before she put her red stethoscope to his chest and began to listen for his pulse.

His pulse came out to a good 50 beats per minute. Then she took a thermometer out and moved his arm gently to place it in his arm pit.

"How come you put that there?"

"I'm checking his temperature to make sure he doesn't have a fever."

"And?"

"Looks like he's good there too," she came around and wrote down what the leads on the monitors recorded, like his breaths to make sure his Co2 was getting cleaned out. "I'm all done."

The phlebotomist came in with her neat little brown tray full of vials and supplies.

"This is Alex. She's the best blood-sucking Vampire we have around here. Patients say they don't feel a thing," the nurse joked.

"Hi, I'm Alex. I need to take some blood samples for Doctor Milton. I promise, I'll be quick," she smiled and went to her job.

"This is Bethany Ford, Mr. Ford's sister."

'Oh, if she only knew how far from being Eliot's sister I am…' Parker thought.

"Nice to meet-ya. I'll be drawing his blood in the a.m. 'til he moves to the ICU. I'm all done. See ya later."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N - You guys are awesome! My Parker Muse got so excited by your reviews that she went and made me write another present for ya'll for Christmas! She already has me working on Chapter 8... Parker's going to have to stop bouncing off the walls for a few days so I can rest a little.**

**We all here hope all of you out there have a Merry Christmas!**

**A/N - This chapter is brought to you by the numbers 2012 and the letters T N and T, F and U.**

**Enjoy!**

**Ps. Just keep my muses fed with your reviews and look out! Your reviews got us 7 Chapters before the holiday... Imagine what we can do after the holiday!**

Parker weakly smiled and waved as the laboratory person left. She shot daggers at the poor girl behind her back with the look she had on her face. Then she quietly floated to her seat by Eliot's left side and eased her back into the chair.

"Is there anything else you need?"

She shook her head no. "Thanks."

"All right, if there's anything you want, just ask for Anisette. I'll be here all day until six at night. After that the night shift will be on. Not sure who's working tonight but he'll have the best looking after him. We're the number one heart care hospital in the state, you know."

"No, I didn't know that."

"We are and very proud of it too. If you want a morning paper I'll set one aside for you. We get them fresh every day. It's better than the old magazines everybody reads in the waiting room. Now, your brother can't eat yet so I won't have to worry about a menu for him yet… However, we have left over meals from patients who've gone home before our Dietary staff can be notified. So, if you're not adverse to slightly cold hospital food, I can bring you a tray of breakfast and lunch if it's available. Would you like that?"

"Yes, please," Parker didn't know what she was signing up for, but free food was a plus in her book. She wouldn't have to depend on her friends to feed her and she wouldn't have to leave Eliot's side.

"Great then, I'll go check on the other patients I need to see and then I'll check what's for breakfast. See you in a bit."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome," Anisette smiled back at her.

Parker saw the look of pity in the nurse's eyes before she left. She thought that the poor woman probably thought she couldn't afford food. It didn't cross her mind that maybe she was trying to make the time she stayed with Eliot more comfortable; that she was showing her some compassion and understanding that the road of the family member and future caretaker of the patient was going to be hard. She took up Eliot's left hand in hers and rested her cheek upon the back of his hand. Parker closed her eyes and tried to catch more sleep as the sun continued to rise.

When Sophie received Parker's text about what she needed from her home, she wasn't too sure what the thief was up to. Nate and Hardison were doing the guy thing and hunting for the sports channels that came over the satellite feed to the television in the waiting room. The last comment she heard was Hardison telling Nate that he could hack into the satellite feed and hook them up with something, 'Age of the Geek,' worthy. After that she stood and told Nate she needed to run an errand for Parker. She took Nate's expensive Tesla's car keys and left the PACU ward. Before she started the car she took a minute and texted Parker back…

[GriftRUs: Gone 2 Yor Place. B Back in Jiffy. S.]

[SpiderMonkey: Don't text while driving. P.] was the reply from Parker.

[GriftRUs: Not driving yet. S.]

[SpiderMonkey: Well, get going!] Sophie laughed as she put her phone in her purse and started up the engine of Nate's precious baby.

Parker didn't live too far away from the hospital and the speed of the car helped. She was in deed back with five minutes to 8:30a.m. Sophie quickly moved to the room but tried not to draw too much attention, since she was on a mission.

"What is it you need all this for," Sophie asked her, a little out of breath since she'd ran from the parking lot. "And what's the hurry?"

"There's a new moon at eight fifty-six this morning."

"What does that mean, sweetie? I'm not really following."

"I need to set up for a ritual. Stay with him while I go use the restroom over there," she said pointing to the door to the restroom, which was by the door out to the main hall.

"You're not going to do anything bad are you?"

"Well sort of. I have to burn some sage around Eliot and me and a tiny candle, but I have to hide it because I don't want to put him at risk since oxygen is being used in here."

"Can I help?"

"Yeah, do that Grifter thing you do and lie. Convince them it's your perfume…"

"Done, anything else?"

"Not really. They're gonna feed me so the team doesn't have to."

"Bethany, we can take care of you," Sophie used the cover, in case someone passed by.

"It's okay; seriously, the nurse said they've got left over food from people that go home and stuff. She'll even get me a newspaper if I want."

Sophie didn't really know what to think… She wondered if her friend had gone off her rocker… But whatever Parker was about to do couldn't hurt, could it?

"Bethany, you're sure this is going to be okay, right?"

"Yeah, promise, now go be my distraction."

Parker began to take her sacred objects out of the bag Sophie retrieved for her. A picture of Eliot, a guitar pick and a t-shirt she'd stolen, a rose quartz wishing stone and bracelet, some dried lavender flower buds in a little sachet, a small vial of lavender oil, and a tiny two inch candle came out, and onto the bedside table. She pulled out her small sage wand to make the space sacred. She pulled out her pocket size journal last to keep a record of her intentions. Then she grabbed the small baggy of sea salt and went into the restroom. She managed to take a quick ritual bath with it in the water, worked quickly so that she wouldn't get caught. She had no idea when Anisette would be back with breakfast. After drying herself with a massive amount of paper towels, she dressed and came back into the room. Then she lit the sage wand and blew it out, letting the smoke start. She used it quickly around her body and then traced around Eliot's body before she doused it in a basin of water. There, she had her sacred space. So far, no one had bothered her, so Sophie was doing her job.

Next she had to ground herself, to connect with the earth energy. If Parker wasn't grounded, she'd have nervousness, racing thoughts, possible mania, and more… Some of which she still had in trying to rush. She needed to remember that the earth was under her feet. She closed her eyes and visualized energy coming up through the floor and moving through each Chakra of her body. She felt it leave through her hands and circle around her. Then when she felt calmer she was ready to set her intentions; to make a list of what she wanted to draw into her life. The new moon was the right moment to summon what seemed out of reach and creating that vision was the biggest step to making it come true. As she wrote what she wanted down, she was committing to doing her part to make them real. Her intentions came from deeply held longings she'd had. Then as her symbolic act she put the rose quartz bracelet and stone with about a table spoon worth of the lavender from her sachet into a wishing bag. She copied her intentions down on a slip of paper and put it in with the rose quartz and lavender.

Parker closed the bag and took a few deep breaths to calm her mind to relax a little before she started her incantation over the rose quartz. Doing an incantation over the items would charge her intentions with power, according to Archie's daughter. The tiny red candle got a drop of lavender oil on it. The lavender was calming and the red of the candle symbolized the fiery, stimulating energy of life. The color was always attached to blood, birth, and death; and sex. It joined with love, passion, fertility, physical energy and strength. Both she and Eliot would need as much as they could get. Red increased magnetism in rituals, emotes zeal and courage. Parker knew that she would need lots of courage to deal with her relationship with Hardison and for the trials of Eliot moving to unit after unit; each one bringing their own challenge. And Eliot hadn't even woken up yet… That was going to be the biggest challenge. Right at 8:56a.m, with the candle lit, she held the intentions, wishing stone sized rose quartz, and the bracelet made of the same stone inside the small white bag in her hands.

'I dedicate this rose quartz to love. I am attracting a loving relationship into my life. All my needs, both physical and emotional, and mental, will be met. And so it is!' Parker invoked in thought.

She mentally gave thanks to the universe, in advance, for the love about to come her way. Hopefully, the second time she tried this ritual it might work right… The first time she'd done it, she ended up with Hardison and look how that worked out… Maybe she was supposed to be with Hardison to meet the one she was supposed to spend forever with? The question crossed her mind. She hadn't spoken her intentions out loud because she wasn't ready for Eliot to hear them… Not yet anyway. One day, maybe, she'd tell him about what she'd done but now wasn't the time. After finishing her ritual, Parker packed everything back up except for the small white bag with the rose quartz, intentions, and lavender. She hid her journal in her bag as well; that book was so sacred and special to her. If it got into the wrong hands, she'd be locked away for several lifetimes. Her other books were buried inside a special box under her brother's headstone. No one, except Parker knew they were there. She'd broken into the cemetery late at night to bury every book as it was completed. The candle had burned down into a small little candle holder. She took it right away into the restroom and let cold water run on it to cool it before she wrapped it up in a few paper towels. That was the last thing to go into the bag. She checked the clock… She'd finished a little after 9:15a.m. The new moon had begun…

Parker began to wonder if the nurse had forgotten she was there. Her tummy was starting to hurt and she hadn't had anything other than the special coffee Nate had brought her several hours ago. She needed a major sugar fix. Somehow, she tried to put it out of her mind by putting the rose quartz bracelet upon her left wrist. The other piece of rose quartz, smooth stone she had enchanted in her hands she put it in Eliot's left hand. She curled his fingers around it and then she tied the sachet closed and out it under the blanket over the bandage over his heart. It kept the lavender and intentions close to his heart and when the lavender warmed it, and when he started breathing on his own, it would help to keep Eliot calm. It wasn't so much lavender that it would relax him too much and he might get into cardiac trouble again. She held his closed left hand in both of hers, thinking on his healing. She hoped that the ritual that she'd done for him worked and he'd be on the path to healing faster… Parker thought about having Sophie go retrieve some of her other aromatherapy oils later on when he was free of all the tubes. Just the sight of all of them was unsettling to her.

Rose quartz had been perfect for her ritual, because it was the stone of universal love. It restored trust and harmony in relationships, and encouraged unconditional love. It purified and opened the heart to all levels of love, mothering love, even platonic love. Friendship, kindness and caring, self-love, deep inner healing and feelings of peace; which they both needed lots of, would also be attracted to the open heart. It was a stone that could give calming and reassuring comfort in times of stress. It eliminates negativity and protects against environmental pollution and replaces it with loving vibes among lots of other things. Parker chose it more for its power to strengthen and balance the physical heart and circulatory systems. It should help release pollution from his body fluids. It might help to hasten his recovery and keep him from getting stressed by reducing any bouts of high blood pressure; which could happen if Hardison didn't keep himself in check… The pink colored crystal could help aid his chest and lung issues, heal the possible damage to his kidneys and adrenal glands. She hadn't asked the doctor about his kidneys yet because they were more worried about keeping his heart from quitting on them… One thing at a time.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N - After a bittersweet Christmas, my muses and I wrote the next 3 chapters to try and cheer us all up before the New Year. I hope you all enjoy them and the next updates should be getting to you on Monday... Just in time to celebrate the New Year...**

**Happy New Year from Parker, Eliot, Sophie, Nate, and yes, Hardison too...! **

On the other hand, if Parker wasn't careful, rose quartz had the power to increase fertility and to protect her and an unborn fetus from miscarriage; that was why she only had Sophie get the small stone to fit in the palm of Eliot's hand and the bracelet. If she had gone overboard and put it all around the room, they might have their own UFC team… No, she liked the better idea of a family of their own, specially trained Leverage team members… Look out world! Parker smiled and it reached her eyes.

"My dear, I apologize. I had more fussy patients than I thought I had. I found something in the staff pantry…" Anisette said as she came in with a small tray of two Apple Jacks and Fruit Loops boxes in those single serving packages, a banana, and two boxes of vitamin D milk.

"Oh! Yeay, you brought me sugar!" Bethany was so excited. "Love, love, love cereal."

'My precioussss…' Parker thought.

"Well good then, glad you approve."

"But, one problem… I'm lactose intolerant and my special medicine is at home."

"Oh, my dear," the nurse couldn't just give Bethany medication without a doctor's order and she wasn't a patient.

"I don't mind dry cereal," Parker tried to make the woman feel better.

"I'll go see if I can round up some juice then. What is that smell? Have you been smoking in here?"

"No, I used some air freshener I have. It's got sage and lavender in it. It's soothing, ain't it?"

"Oh. Yeah, a bit. Your Aunt Ophelia mentioned that hospital smells stress you and that you had a touch of to calm you," Sophie hadn't said it was perfume like she'd asked her to say. Parker didn't know that Sophie had decided that the nurse wouldn't buy that it was perfume.

"Yes, yes, I am much better now; deep breaths and all. Thank you for the cereal."

"I'll be back as soon as I can with that juice."

As soon as Anisette left the room, Parker dove into the small boxes of cereal, but carefully ate the food without spilling a piece on the floor. A few minutes later Anisette came back with a small box of apple and orange juices. She brought her the orange juice to help keep the poor woman's immune system up. If Bethany got sick now, Anisette believed that it would be devastating for the whole family.

"Will you need anything else?"

"Nope. I'm fine. When will my brother wake up?" Parker spoke as she had both of her small hands wrapped around the fist surrounding the small rose quartz stone.

"Well darlin', I don't know for sure. The coma medication they have been feeding him now has to work its way out of his system. It takes three days for any medication to get in or out of the body. Or at least have dissipated enough to be fully gone by five days. However, because they fed it intravenously, it got into his system faster. Now the doctor's orders have been changed and he's being weaned off the medication so that his heart doesn't go into shock if he were cut off cold turkey."

"You mean that he'd go through some kind of withdrawals from the medication?"

"I don't know, for certain, but I wouldn't rule it out either. I do know the doctor's doing his best. Personally, I think he should wake up in a day or two."

"How do you know?" Parker still worried that Eliot might not wake up…

"We had a patient come in that had broken nearly every bone in his body. His parachute didn't open in time and he'd hit a few trees before he hit the ground. They had put him under like your brother. He didn't have a reaction though. He was kept under for two weeks so that the important injuries could heal properly. After the two weeks it took him another week to wake up once they weaned him off the medication."

"Was he okay?"

"Yeah, once he left here and went to rehab he made a full recovery."

"When will they move him to ICU?"

"He needs to wake up first. His heart needs to keep beating steady. He needs to keep healing, that's all we can hope for now. Primarily, we just have to wait for the doctor's say so."

"Thanks."

"No problem," and Anisette left to complete her rounds.

Parker moved her chair closer to the railing, by Eliot's shoulder. Then she carefully put the railing down to give her access. She softly put her head on his shoulder as her left hand rested on his fisted one. She thought it rather odd that they put his IV line in the wrong hand. It should have been on his left and not on his injured arm. What if they had a mix up in the operating room? At any rate, it was staying still where it was. With her head over his shoulder, she could hear his heart beating in her ear. It sounded still a bit slow, but it was beating better than she thought it would. Parker nodded off to sleep after the sugar rush she'd just consumed.

In the darkness, Eliot couldn't believe what he had been able to hear. He heard what everyone had told Parker. He smiled to himself when he heard the nurse come in with cereal and Parker's excitement.

'Twenty pounds of crazy in a five pound bag…' he thought. 'Parker and her cereal; let no one tear them asunder.'

He felt something heavy in his left hand, but he could not feel or visualize it. And when she touched him, Eliot knew the pressure and felt the gentleness was Parker's. He could not see her nor touch her, but he knew by the sound of her voice she was the only one left in the room. He heard her concern that he hadn't woken up yet and why he hadn't. They had given him something to allow him to heal… But it had caused problems and now they were pulling him off of it. Oh, if only he could move, he'd be out of that bed in a jiffy. Then out of the blue he felt something heavy on his left shoulder… Must be her head. Now what was this about rituals? And sage and lavender? Eliot knew about the sage to clear the air to make a sacred place from the boyhood visits to his grandmother on the Tahlequah, Oklahoma reservation. She was part of the federally recognized Cherokee tribe. He got to visit her when his dad went on a weekend bender and his mother protected him as best she could from his father. Things got bad when his grandmother died and his mother didn't have any relatives living to send him to.

Lavender was supposed to be soothing and healing, but he didn't understand what kind of ritual Parker was going to perform… He hadn't seen her do any kind of rituals when they had offices or when she'd allowed him access into her past. Eliot decided to ask her about it later… Once he woke up and could move again anyway. For right now, he seemed at peace knowing that Parker was there with him. But then an ugly bug popped up into his thoughts. If Parker was here with him, where was Hardison and why wasn't she with him? There wasn't a con going on, according to Nate… So, what was going on between the hacker and the thief?

Parker slept on Eliot's shoulder until it was time for lunch. She propped open an eyelid and spotted the large clock on the wall across from the foot of Eliot's bed. It was a little after 12:30 in the afternoon and her tummy wasn't happy it hadn't been filled. She lifted her head and arched it back to look at Eliot's face. The tube was still down his throat to help him breathe via a machine along with an oxygen tube running clean air down his nose. His beautiful eyes were closed and she could just imagine his silky hair inside the surgical hair cap. Another growl from her tummy and Parker sat up. She hit the button on the bed for the nurse. She hoped Anisette wasn't on her lunch break. She needed another dose of something sweet and crunchy.

Instead of Anisette, Sophie came in with a couple of bags from McDonald's from her large purse. Parker liked the fast food giant, especially their chicken nuggets plus sweet and sour sauce, and Oreo McFlurries with extra Oreo topping. And pie… She liked their cherry and apple pies. The tall woman came in and grabbed the other chair in the room and brought it next to Parker's. She put her purse on the floor and pulled off her shoes before she tucked her legs under her hips.

"I hope you're hungry… I think Hardison bought the store," Sophie quietly began.

"Starved, gimme gimme," Parker turned into a 6 year old when it came to McDonald's food.

Sophie handed her a small box of ten chicken nuggets and a small tub of sweet and sour sauce. Parker's eyes went wide and her smile practically went beyond her eyebrows as she had one of those wicked Grinch smiles. She opened the box of chicken and it was almost as good as a freshly made and wrapped bundle of 100 dollar bills. Once she dipped it in the sauce and took a bite, it was a total joy-gasm in her mouth. So good… She polished off the box and licked the last of the sauce off her index finger when Sophie handed her another box of ten nuggets and another tub of the golden brown sauce. The thief gasped. More! Sophie had a chicken Caesar salad she'd added apple slices to. She was careful not to forget to give Parker the large Sprite, large box of French fries, and ketchup from Hardison as well.

Parker's tummy was so very full; she was happy and re-energized for the rest of the day. She excused herself for a moment and went into the small bathroom. She could trust Sophie to watch over Eliot while she took a few minutes for a break. She took care of her necessities and washed her hands before she took up residence in her chair.

"You get me…" Apparently, she hadn't heard when Sophie said that Hardison was the one who'd gotten the food.

"That's what friends are for," Sophie played along. "How's he been?"

"Still, but healing. I wish he would wake up. The nurse says they're weaning him off the coma stuff. He might wake up in a few days or a week."

"I know patience isn't one of your virtues, but you're going to have to find the strength."

"Could you go home for me?" Parker changed the subject.

Sophie got the hint but she thought Parker needed a reprieve from her vigil.

"What if you go home and I'll stay here. I promise I'll call if anything changes."

"I can't leave. I have to stay here. Don't ask me to leave. I can't leave," Parker objected like a 6 year old who was suddenly afraid they were losing a dying parent.

Sophie couldn't help but be worried for Parker. Normally, Parker wasn't so emotionally invested when it came to any of the team. She sensed a change in the thief and wondered if it had been because of that ritual thing she'd mentioned earlier. There was no way she could have known about what happened between Parker and Eliot up at the top of that mountain, inside that cave. They had grown a hair closer but he hid the fact that she'd gotten under his skin because Hardison and Parker were together. Parker hid the fact that she knew Eliot would always have her back and that she felt safe with him.

"All right, you stay here then, I will be back in a while," Sophie gave in; there was no point in arguing. "Hardison and Nate are here if you decide you want a break."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N - I needed a little inspiration to write so I listened to The Fountain soundtrack...**

**And here's an extra, "Dammit Hardison!" **

**I hope you like it...**

Hardison hadn't had his turn yet with still comatose Eliot, or Lazarus Ford as the hospital records said. When Sophie had asked him to go get some lunch from the cafeteria he had gone there as she'd asked. Something about the food they had for lunch just turned him way off. So instead, he'd thought about what the team might like and went off to McDonald's. He took Nate's car since they had come together. He hadn't seen Parker in a while and wondered how she was doing with the hitter out of commission. Alec had picked out the chicken meal and dessert for her in hopes to get back on her good side, to prove that he knew her, and that he was thinking of his girl. He didn't know that she hadn't gotten his message with the food. She had it in her mind that Sophie had purchased the food. Hardison finished his lunch and he'd had enough of his portable Play Station video game player. He needed another distraction… Sophie reappeared and announced that she needed Nate's keys. She needed to get some things for Parker.

"I can go if you want to stay here," Alec offered.

"No, I promised her I'd go.

"I'll go relieve Parker," Hardison said to give Sophie and Nate some time alone.

"Be aware, she won't leave him. I tried to get her to take a break, but she won't leave. She left him to use the loo but when I suggested she go home, she became like a child. At that point I gave up. You know how she can be. So, I'm going to go get some things for her and I'm going to go change myself."

'Why couldn't Parker just be normal,' the hacker asked himself in thought. 'But if she was normal, she'd be boring.'

Nate's brow furrowed and he frowned. Anyone could see that he was upset that Parker took everything so hard. One had to remember; she hadn't had the experience of when family members were ill like Eliot was; her brother had been killed instantly. There was no drawn out process and from what he read in his file on her, she hadn't been allowed to properly grieve. So, all her emotions turned into anger. Anger that her parents could no longer take care of her properly, so mired in their own grief, angry that she was thrown away like trash into the foster care system, angry that she kept getting placed in homes that were defrauding the government just to get extra money for their drug or drinking habits, or for children they already had that they thought needed more spoiling. Angry that she had nowhere left to turn, at least until Archie Leach found her. However, that anger had kept her alive…

"Don't be long," Nate spoke to Sophie before he kissed her left temple.

"I won't," he watched the grifter leave.

"Hardison, go easy on Parker if she doesn't want to leave. She isn't herself and they believe she's his immediate family. She has the right to toss any of us out."

"Hey man, duly noted," he could see the frustration in Alec's face.

The mastermind hoped it had been noted. Nate hoped that Hardison wouldn't do something stupid and make the situation worse than it already was. None of them needed more drama in their lives, though sometime drama made life exciting… On a hunch, Nate started dialing on his phone and secured a flight and a pass to the next video game convention he could find; anything to get Hardison out of town for a while. It was a way to send him to time out without breaking the team up.

Hardison watched Parker from the doorway. She looked somewhat rested, but he could tell she was tired. She didn't have bags around her eyes yet. Her shoulders hung low, sagged, and her head up and looking into his comrade's face. What struck him the most is that one hand was wrapped around the hitter's fist while the other drew lazy patterns on the blanket covered shoulder with such a look in her eyes. He wasn't sure that it was love but he knew it wasn't lust either. He knew she cared for Eliot as a friend and teammate, so there was some affection there. Alec couldn't remember the last time Parker had looked at him that same way. He looked down and sighed before he entered the room.

"Hey mama, can I have a few minutes alone with my bro?"

"I can't leave him. He needs me."

"Nate said he wanted to see ya, anyway," he lied.

"I'll be here if he wants to see me," Parker wouldn't budge.

Alec took up the seat next to Parker's. None of them sat with their backs to the door. Their enemies would not have the element of surprise with them facing the door. He decided to try a different tactic. He wrapped his arm around her, gave her a half hug, and told her that he needed to talk to Eliot, man to man. He needed a few minutes alone to get something off his chest. They'd all had their chances to visit and had done it alone…

Parker listened to her special sense, 'Spidey Sense,' if you will. Something told her not to leave Eliot alone… She didn't fully trust him and she knew he didn't trust her with important things either, but he was right, they all had been to see Eliot and gotten to do it alone. She went against her intuition…

"Fine. I'll go see Nate."

She stood and moved up close to Eliot's ear.

"I don't want to go. I will be back soon, promise," she softly whispered and placed a gentle kiss to his left temple.

"Don't worry baby, he'll be fine," Hardison tried to tell her.

The feeling didn't go away as she headed out the door. She exited the room but she didn't go see Nate like she'd told Alec. Instead, she'd stood just outside the doorway, in the hall. He wouldn't be able to see her from the side she was on because the curtain blocked the view if you stood on the right. Hardison had been able to see Parker earlier by standing on the left side of the doorway. She just didn't trust him not to behave during this talk he wanted to have. She listened in as best she could…

"Well man, you won. She's yours, though you don't know it yet. I gotta admit I didn't think you'd break the, 'Bro Code,' and steal her from me. You've always been such a damn chick magnet, man. One after another… Damn, you've probably got hundreds-ah marks on that bed post. Parker wasn't a mark in my bedpost man. Never. Parker's special. You know what, dammit Eliot! You knew she was mine. Now you've gotta wake up and get better so I can kick your ass for stealing my girl, and maybe a second time for winnin' the bet," he spoke.

Suddenly, the machines started to alarm as Eliot's heart beat began to climb up high after Hardison finished his little speech. Parker rushed into the room because she believed that she could keep Eliot from dying; surprise and anger on her face for the man she believed was a friend to her and the hitter.

"Get the fuck out," she yelled at him and yanked on his arm to get out of the chair.

"What? What'd I say?" She scowled at him.

"Morgan, just get the hell out and, and don't come back," she snapped at Hardison; her face so serious. There was no way he could mistake her meaning.

"Please sir, you'll have to leave," Anisette demanded as she rushed into the room to check on the patient.

Parker began to stroke his left forearm to get Eliot to calm down. It began to work almost immediately. Eliot settled down somewhat quickly. By doing so, she'd kept it from getting too high and kept him from seizing with a heart attack, which would have led to more damage. Anisette had the ends of the listening device in her ears and she had the sensor over Eliot's chest. When she was satisfied that Lazar Ford was okay she reset the alarm.

"Is he okay?"

"Yes, we got here in time."

"I don't want that man allowed in here again, unless I say so."

"I will make sure the staff knows. He must have said something that upset your brother."

"Gonna have to break up with him once Lazar makes it out of here."

When Nate spotted Hardison's stride as he came back into the room he knew something was wrong. The hacker had picked up his backpack and was about to leave when the mastermind stopped him.

"What is it?"

"I'm leaving. I'll see ya, Nate," he could tell that Hardison didn't want to talk.

"Here."

"What's this?"

"Confirmation number for a flight to Madison, Wisconsin. A ticket's waiting for you at the Madison Marriott West for in a few days. You should go. Take two weeks off and I'll keep you up on how it goes here."

Hardison looked torn between going and staying to support the team. He'd just horribly fucked things up with Parker and maybe with Eliot too. Nate was actually telling him to go and giving him means to leave.

"Let me know the minute he wakes up."

"Deal. It's gonna be okay."

"Thanks man. Thanks, Nate," and Hardison left the small waiting room.

After Alec left, Nate worried that Parker was beside herself if Hardison had upset her. Hopefully, whatever the hacker had done hadn't caused permanent damage to Parker or Eliot. He considered going in to check on the thief when Sophie, in a pair of skinny jeans and a blouse, popped in, and with a fuller bag than when she left. The head of an old stuffed rabbit peaked from the top. Time must have flown…

"What happened?" She asked.

"Hardison…"

"Don't say any more. Bloody hell! Hardison… Really?"

"Don't know what officially happened but I gave him two weeks off and sent him to time out at in Wisconsin."

"How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine," Nate sidestepped his feelings and changed the subject. "I thought about getting some coffee. Want some?"

"Yes and don't think I don't know what you're doing… We will talk in a bit. I need to check in with our 'niece.' I'm sure she's probably upset."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N - This was really tough to write... Please have tissues handy!**

**You can guess what's coming after this last update, can you?**

**That's right! Another update on Monday!**

**Happy New Year from all the Leverage muses and I!**

Sophie took one look at Parker and knew that something bad had happened while she'd been away. The Bridgeport hadn't been too far away and she had a stash of clothes at Nate's place. So that's where she'd gone to change. Then a quick jaunt to Parker's place again for Bunny and she went back to the hospital. Parker had her hands around Eliot's left hand and her forehead rested upon the back of her right hand as she wept quietly as possible. The grifter went to her friend's side, put her bag down next to her chair, and put her arm around her. She gave her a half hug before she reached for the tissue box from the bedside table. Sophie felt a little guilty that she'd left Parker alone; she should have sent Hardison to get her a change of clothing and Parker's Bunny. Too late now, what was done was done. She tried to hand Parker some tissues to clean up the tracks of tears.

"Eliot wouldn't want you to cry," she softly uttered.

She wouldn't take the tissues. Sophie pulled Bunny out by the ears and lifted the stuffed animal to her.

"Look who's here…" Parker didn't speak a word as she took Bunny and buried her face into the soft fur of the rabbit.

'So much for tissues,' Sophie thought.

"Thank you," she finally spoke. "You get me."

She assumed that Parker meant that she understood what she'd needed was the furry creature. She wondered what that toy would say if it could talk…

Parker poured her emotion into the rabbit; he was the only one who could understand what she felt. He knew her most intimate secrets, her tears, her anger, her fears, and her victories. He knew her hopes and dreams but didn't have the capability to remember anything. The things she wanted to remember went into those covertly hidden journals. What Hardison had done to her and Eliot was totally unforgivable in her eyes… At least for the moment; maybe when she cooled down she could analyze it later. What if Eliot had gotten into trouble and had another heart attack? He might be dead right now, that's what.

"Honey, what happened? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to but it's better to let it out."

Where to begin? She was living in a nightmare! The one thing she knew for certain… It was over between her and Hardison. No more cheeky arms around the waist or an arm across his shoulders, no touching period… She didn't even want to be teamed up with him again! Unless Nate was decidedly determined to pair them up… Then maybe she'd concede to get the job done. Parker's heart was already putting up walls to keep Hardison out.

"Hardison said something to Eliot and it made his heart beat jump. I saved him from getting into the danger zone. I kicked him out and he's no longer allowed to see him unless I say so. The nurse is going to make sure the staff knows."

"Bloody hell! What did he say?"

"Something about Eliot winning some kind of bet; that he broke the, 'Bro Code,' as he put it, and stole me away from him. That he was such a chick magnet and that I would be a notch in Eliot's post. He got all sensitive and said that I was special and he wouldn't treat me that way. I don't buy it. He put me on such a pedestal and then amused himself with work or games. Then he told him to get better so that he could kick Eliot's ass for stealing me away from him and for winning some bet. He didn't really go into details because I kicked him out."

"I should kick his arse for Eliot," Sophie was practically steaming out of her ears; her nostrils flared.

"He came in and lied that Nate wanted to see me. I decided to wait just outside the door."

"I'm glad you did. I can't believe he was so insensitive! I should wring bloody his neck! Nate sent him away for a while."

"Where?"

"Some geek gathering in Wisconsin," Parker rolled her eyes.

"Doesn't surprise me. Tell Nate thanks for me, when you see him. Eliot didn't steal me from Hardison, I walked away… I am no prize to be had. I am not a notch in someone's bedpost. I'm no damsel in distress… If I want to be saved, I do it myself. I've done it for so many years without either of them. I'm not some delicate porcelain doll that belongs on a shelf. Sure, I might be nice to be looked at an admired, but I wanna be taken off the shelf and played with. I don't want to be forgotten…"

"That's right. You are a woman with feelings Parker. You need to show them this side of you."

"I can't, not yet."

"Why not?"

'If they take the time to get to know me, not try to change me into an image they have of me, then they've earned the right to climb over the walls to my heart,' Parker thought to herself as she held Bunny in her left arm and had a hold of Eliot's fist in her right.

In all the time she'd known Eliot, he'd never really tried to change her. He called her crazy or said there was something wrong with her, but she took it as his way of a school boy teasing the girl he liked. She teased back from time to time to let him see she was interested, but she guessed he hadn't gotten the whole picture yet… After all, he was a man. Sure, from time to time he got frustrated with her but he always had her back. She never let him take a risk that she wouldn't attempt herself when it came to jumping off buildings, Hardison always complained. One of the reasons she agreed to go out with Hardison was to make Eliot jealous without coming out to say so. It failed miserably… He'd driven himself into a string of one night stands and she felt it was to make her jealous somehow and she was stuck trying to make a relationship work with a man who really didn't have a good example of what a good relationship was. Sophie tried her best to help but after all the help, he'd still put her up on that pedestal… She was sure if she'd ever gotten to meet his Nana, she would have slapped him up the backside of his head for the way he'd treated her over the time they'd been a couple.

"I'm not ready and Eliot's like this…"

"Talk to him. I bet he can hear you."

"I can't, not about this. I'm not ready."

"One day you will, one day you will."

Sophie left about half an hour later to have coffee with Nate and Parker was on her own with Eliot again. Anisette came in and took his vitals again just to double check because of Bethany's boyfriend getting her brother upset. She'd stood on the other side of the curtain, not wanting to leave the room while the nurse checked his drains and emptied them if they were full. The nurse told her that the drainage looked good. No sign of infection. Parker stood at the small white sink attached to the wall. Her reflection stared back at her. She looked like such a mess. She turned on the cold water and splashed some on her face before she paper toweled it dry. Then she pulled the cheap hair tie out of her blond hair. She ran her brush through it that Sophie had brought her just to keep the rats out. Then she gathered it up and put it back inside the inexpensive hair tie; so tight it pulled her face up a little. She looked like a different person.

"All done sweetie. Everything looks good. I'll be back in a few hours to check those drains and take vitals. Things are looking up."

"Not for me they aren't," Parker responded.

"Don't say that Bethany… We have to keep hope alive, especially for your brother."

"I'm sorry. I've got lots on my mind. I have to break up with my boyfriend and I'm in the middle of dealing with Lazar's condition."

"I see… Well, just sleep on things tonight. Sometimes things look better in the morning. Maybe you'll have strength to do what you need to do then."

"Suppose you're right. Thanks."

"Do you need anything?"

"Not really… Um maybe some juice later."

"Any preference?"

"No, what you brought earlier was fine. Thanks."

"Okee dokee. I will see you in a while."

Parker changed her clothing from what she had on to something fresh Sophie brought for her. She took up her vigil next to Eliot and picked up his hand in both of hers.

"What am I going to do now," she softly asked him.

The machines in the room droned on with their endlessly steady beeping.

"You've got my back and now I actually have a chance to have your back. You don't let me often enough, God not often enough," tears began to form in her eyes once more.

She began to think back of the time they'd all been sitting at the bar and she'd gotten a beautiful Venus fly trap plant. She'd known that it wasn't from Hardison, but she'd played along. And later when she'd talked to Sophie, Sophie had known that the beautiful white roses weren't from Nate and she had played along as well. They both knew Hardison and Nate too well to fully buy in to their gifts. Sophie had secretly sent Eliot a dozen yellow roses of friendship in a crystal vase to thank him. The hitter got the message. Parker got him a silly gift, something totally Parker. She found a pair of multi-colored toe socks; each digit a different color. She'd found them in a vintage clothing shop a few streets over from the Bridgeport Brew Pub. Eliot had put a nail in the small toe and big toe on each sock and hung them up in a place of honor, his closet. She had no idea though, that they had been put there. When she saw him the next day, he just, 'Eliot Growled,' at her and she figured he'd gotten her gift.

"I can't take any work while you're here. Because I'd be too distracted and you know I'd get in trouble. You wouldn't be there to bail me out. And no, I won't let that Quinn of yours take your spot, because that means we're moving on. I won't let them move on. I promise. That spot belongs to you, you own it."

She moved her left hand away to stroke Bunny; she kept her right hand in place on top of Eliot's. Soft fur of the creature began to soothe her where she could get her emotions under control. Parker wasn't one to do that ugly cry she'd heard about from Sophie after she'd seen an episode of Oprah, she was quiet.

"You have to get better… You have to get better so that you can kick Alec's ass for being such an idiot. At the very least, kick his ass for me, for lying to me," she stroked the back of his fist to keep him somewhat calm.

Parker didn't want to be guilty of the same thing she'd just tossed Hardison's ass out for… It seemed to work; her caress had the right amount of pressure. His blood pressure raised just a hair but not as high as earlier; she had him at the right dose of calm. She wondered if he was dreaming of anything… Was he trapped in nightmares of his ghastly past or maybe he was thinking about her? She wondered if he saw puppies and flowers or guns, blood, and death…


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N - Happy New Year from my Leverage Muses and I!**

**These next two chapters were soooo hard to write, but their worth it! I wasn't able to get chapter 13 finished in time but it will be the first **

**new chapter of the New Year! Ha! I didn't even plan it that way... I hope you all enjoy your New Year and the updates!**

**These two chapters are brought to you by Alison Krauss, Journey, Jim Reeves, The Mavericks, Dwight Yoakam, Santana, Phil Collins, and The **

**Fountain Soundtrack. **

Eliot heard everything said from the nurse, Sophie, Parker, and Hardison… Hardison he wanted to kill with his bare hands when he got back to reality and not floating in the blackness anymore. He thanked whoever was listening for Sophie. She watched over Parker and kept her in one piece. For a moment, he hoped that Parker would make it through the whole situation he was in with more strength than she had going into it. As for her emotional pleas… They tore at his virtual heart; tears stung at the corners of his eyes. He could picture her there by his side, tears making their way down her slightly pale skin. She was so eerily quiet when he heard her cry from time to time; broke his heart every time. Her Bunny at her side… And he felt the pressure of her hand on his. He didn't mean to make her cry… Eliot was the hitter, protector, and warrior for the team. He didn't need back up because he was the back up. The point was that he didn't see her as anything other than someone that needed protection from the monsters like him out there. Most of the time he was left to his own devices, but hadn't he taught her things? He taught her how to fight and she was just wily enough to hold her own because the opponents always underestimated Parker's strengths… She was a woman and she scrapped almost as well as he could. Both of them were very streetwise.

After all, how'd he get to the hospital? His mind was a blank after he blacked out… She must have gotten him help. Hardison, Nate, and Sophie weren't close by to his last recollection. Parker had saved his ass. She was his Clarence… Eliot suspected she had an invisible pair of angel wings hidden somewhere on her agile frame. He understood what she was trying to do by mentioning Quinn, a little reverse psychology. However, she was right… Being the hitter and retrieval specialist was his job. He struggled still, every day with the fear that you are what you do. He'd been a cold-blooded killer and he walked a fine line of control… And every day he fought to have a life outside of what he did for the team and on the side. No, they would not take on Quinn; he wouldn't let them. Yes, he would get better and continue to fight to keep himself balanced and to put a smile back on Parker's face. Maybe he could just torture the hacker a little for hurting Parker… If it wasn't obvious what was going on with Hardison and Parker, it was crystal clear now… It was over between them. The only thing left to say now was, 'It's over.' That thought he filed away for contemplation later. When she stroked the back of his hand, he thought she just might be the death of him…

The next two days, Parker stayed with Eliot. She read him everything from more Shel Silverstein poetry, to the whole newspaper, including the comics, to manuals for repairing his car… And two whole days of sitting by Eliot's side began to take its toll on Parker; her joints ached terribly. She did some pacing to alleviate some of the soreness, but she began to miss her bed. All she had to do was take one look at her friend in that bed, incapacitated, and suddenly she found the strength to keep going. Both Sophie and Nate when they came to visit the hitter and the thief had tried to get her to go home… No deal. She wasn't leaving Eliot's side. The night before, it came to her in a dream; a premonition of sorts, that the hitter would soon be waking up; she just had to have faith. She believed with every fiber of her being that Eliot would come back to them… Come back to her. She'd finished another round of pacing and it was time for dinner, she noticed by looking up at the clock on the wall. The universe answered her unvoiced call when Anisette appeared.

"I hope you're hungry, I scored this tray from another floor. It's tri-tip steak with gravy, carrots, mashed potatoes, a roll, and looks like cherry Jell-O for dessert."

Right at that description, Parker's stomach growled. They both laughed quickly and settled back to awkward silence.

"Yeah, I'd say you're starving by the sound that little buddy's makin'. Would you like juice or would you like something different to drink?"

Parker narrowed her eyes… "Something different."

Anisette pulled a Dr. Pepper out of the pocket of her pink scrubs blouse, with a bendy straw.

"Ta-da! I will be back in an hour to get Lazar's vitals and take your tray. I'll be going home after that. Riya will be in at seven to check his drains and refresh his medication and fluids to his IV."

"Thanks," Parker shyly spoke.

"No problem. It's gonna be any day now…" Anisette patted her on the shoulder before she left to finish her rounds.

Meanwhile, at a posh eatery, otherwise known as Nate's Kitchen, Sophie sat on a stool while Nate tried his best to cook. Both of them terribly missed Eliot's culinary skills. They were both very worried about Eliot and Parker; even more so after what Hardison had done. Sophie left Nate alone to use his mastermind skills to come up with a plan. She was the peacemaker, mother, and big sister type who wanted to make it all right, but one, 'kid,' was still out of commission… She still ranted to Nate from time to time about what Hardison had done to the other two, 'kids.' Nate was the brainiac, father, and big brother type and it seemed the team might be breaking up as he thought. Midway through making salmon steaks with rice pilaf and peas, he just lost his desire to cook. Sophie took over and finished cooking the fish while Nate paced back and forth in front of the giant monitors. She sighed as she watched him pace with his gaze staring at some imaginary thing on the floor. Then she lost her appetite as well… A few minutes later, the food was stored and she joined Nate by handing him the glass of really good wine he'd left in the kitchen. A glass of wine in her hand, she took up a spot in the middle of the couch.

"What are we going to do, Nate?"

"Eat later I suppose."

"It's still early, we could order out later."

"You know, I'm torn between letting them fight it out of each other, but then we're left without a team. I'm torn between beating the shit out of Hardison myself."

"I know… The hardest thing about all of this is that there's no one to bloody hell blame… It's not your fault that Eliot got hurt. I know you blame yourself. You couldn't have planned for that Nate," Sophie knew that Nate was beating himself up over what happened during the last job.

"All we can do is wait. I couldn't dream of replacing our team. Fortunately, there's no work coming up at the moment."

"What should we do about the uh, 'kids'?"

"Stay out of it until Eliot's back on his feet; seems reasonable."

"Should we keep sending Hardison away until then?"

"Might be a good plan, Parker won't allow him anywhere near Eliot anyway."

"She won't even let us alone with him," Sophie exclaimed in frustration.

"She'll be fine. She'll probably fall back once he's awake."

"Don't underestimate her Nate…"

"Who me? Never."

The following morning, as Parker stood at the window watching people run between rain drops, she had the feeling that today, something special was going to happen. The sky was full of water, ready to wash away the negative. She placed a kiss on Bunny's head and then turned back to the bed where Eliot slept. She smirked as she thought that this was probably the most sleep he'd ever gotten since he was a boy. Parker pulled her chair up close to the head of the bed where she'd put the railing down again before she slipped her backside into it. Bunny got to sit next to her on the left. Her hand moved over his left hand and she let it rest there. She leaned in close to Eliot's ear and began to softly recite the lyrics to a song that she'd related to him since she began to trust him… With a little of her own thoughts.

"It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart, right through the fortress around it. Without saying a word you can light up the dark, especially when I'm having one of my bad days. Try as I may I could never explain what I hear when you don't say a thing. Believe it or not, you say a lot when you do that Cross-Your-Arms Eliot stance. Truth is; the smile on your face lets me know that you need me, but I know you won't come out and say it. You keep those walls up between us… Things did change between us after we left that mountain, but I still felt the fences there. There's a truth in your eyes sayin' you'll never leave me. I see it every time we go out on a job together."

Machines beeped but nothing out of the ordinary to spook Parker. The room almost seemed too quiet even with the machines performing their jobs perfectly.

"When you touch me, the touch of your hand says to me that you'll catch me if ever I fall. I know you would. You'd catch me if I had to jump off a building. Sophie taught me how to read you a little better, so you don't have to get angry and yell at me. Go ahead and spend that energy on yelling at Hardison, I give my permission. No, you say it best when you say nothing at all."

Out of the blue, Eliot felt like the air blowing into his face began to slow. His back suddenly landed on something soft, soft like a bed. He'd been listening to Parker talk that morning… He could tell that the girl was feeling something for him… What exactly was it? He wasn't too sure himself. There was friendship, kindness and caring, and feelings of peace. It wasn't lust, it wasn't love; she was confused. After all, she just ended a relationship with a man that had become like the brother he never had. No, he would put walls up until he got back to himself. He wasn't going to be just some rebound guy for her. Hardison had been right; she was special; in more ways than one. Eliot noticed that she'd stopped talking… And from somewhere came a voice that sounded like his superior when he was in the military. It was demanding to know the status of his body. He couldn't move his arms or legs.

'I can't move,' he spoke back to the faceless voice that only he could hear.

'Unacceptable, soldier.'

'I can't see.'

Then some of his senses woke up. He could suddenly hear the beeping of the machines as they kept a steady pace.

'What was that again? I didn't hear you; speak like you've got a pair…'

'I can't see but I can hear. There's beeping.'

'Right, now let's keep going down that check list…'

Eliot bit down on something hard. It was keeping him from breathing on his own.

'Taste plastic… Can't breathe.' Panic began to set in… He heard the beeping pace get faster.

'How can you tell?'

'It's a very distinctive plastic. Hospital grade. Used in tubing for intubation; machine breathing for me.'

'Good job, Spencer. What next?'

He smelt lavender and sage… And suddenly he smelt jasmine. And he felt her fingers stroking his arm. Parker is here… She must be trying to calm me down. She feels me when I gotta calm down. Can't breathe because of tube. Must stay calm. Why am I intubated? Must have put it in before I went into the OR. Next he smelt clean… Antiseptic, bleach, alcohol, povidone-iodine, and others. They too had a distinctive scent. The conclusion was that he was still in a hospital. He didn't know for sure because he'd been hanging out in darkness, now for several days. He was ready to meet the world…


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N - And so the sun shines again...**

**WARNING: A brief mention of nudity...**

**I hope you all have a Happy New Year! Please enjoy, DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE! **

**Ps. Don't forget to review!**

Eliot abruptly felt pain over every inch of his body, except for maybe his left hand. There was something hard in his hand. Fuck, it felt good to feel something again. He hadn't moved yet, but he felt the hardness in his palm. It was small and in an oval, polished smooth. It was some kind of stone.

'Did I say you could slack off? Get your ass back in line, don't slouch. The pain is nothing. You will push through it. You're no pansy! It's just like whatever's in your hand; it's small. You can overcome it,' the bodiless opinion of a former soldier spoke in his head.

First he tried to move his fingers… He succeeded in gripping the hard object tighter.

"Shut the front door!" He heard Parker speak loudly. "Don't try to talk. Your name is Lazarus Ford and you're big brother to Bethany Ford, me. Nate and Sophie are our Aunt Ophelia and Uncle Patrick Ford. Can you do that again? Just for me?"

Eliot followed her instructions and kept still as possible. Hardison must not have had time to pick better names for the team. Lazarus? What the fuck? Well he supposed it was true since he'd died at least 3 times. Lazar didn't sound like too bad of a nickname. He released the item in his hand a little and gripped it again.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh…"

He felt her pick up his hand and gently open it. She trapped the rose quartz stone between their hands. She gripped his hand with her own and Eliot tried so hard to wrap his fingers around her hand. She put another warm hand on the back of his. He felt her shaking in her hands but he also felt her strength.

"Can you open your eyes for me? Please open your eyes for me…" He heard the tearful plea in her voice.

'Hang in there, soldier. We're almost done. Walk with me… We're going to walk toward the light,' his imagination spoke.

Eliot tried to slowly open his eyes… Nope, it was too painfully bright. Maybe had black eyes? He had no idea, but the light was still too much after having slept for so long.

When Parker felt the twitch in the back of his hand, she thought it was a mistake until she felt the tiny muscles move in his hand. He had closed his hand tight and the first thing she could think of was to help him learn his new cover. Then when she got that out of her mouth she asked if he could move his hand again so that she could believe that it happened. He moved his hand again to release and grip the rose quartz stone in his hand. She didn't have to pinch herself; she wasn't dreaming. She needed him to see her, to see Nate and Sophie when they came later, and to see the doctor. So she asked for one more miracle as tears began to fall. Parker watched him try but he couldn't lift those eyelids. His blood pressure began to rise and she panicked a little.

"Never mind, just rest. Just feel my hand. I've got you. I've got you," she offered and she caressed his upper arm to soothe him.

She hit the call nurse button on the hospital bed and pulled out her cell phone. She called Sophie's cell because she knew that the grifter would pass the information along.

"He woke up," was all she'd said and hung up before Sophie get in a word edgewise.

Then Parker gathered up Eliot's hand and she gripped it with the stone between their hands. She heard her phone buzz but she let it go on because there was no way she was letting him go to answer it. He gripped her hand back and she put her other hand on top so that he could feel her warmth.

Earlier at the Bridgeport Brew Pub loft apartment, Sophie had been wrapped around Nate, enjoying her beauty sleep when she heard her cell phone as it rang from the end table on her side of the bed.

"You gonna get that?" A sleepy, lovey-dovey Nate asked.

"Maybe," she groggily replied.

"Go on, it could be important," he said as he swatted her naked buttock.

"Nate! Oww! All right, I'm going," she said as she rolled away from Nate.

She hit the answer button and when the line was open all she heard was, 'He woke up.' Then the line went dead. There was only one person she could think of who was calling that early in the morning. Sophie jumped up and onto Nate's bed. She started bouncing on it making all kinds of noise… In the nude. Nate was looking at her as if she'd lost her mind. She sort of had…

"Eliot's awake!" She started screaming as she continued to bounce on Nate's bed.

Nate sat up and took his time getting out of bed. His joints ached a bit after what they'd done last night. He stood and walked in his black boxers to the closet to get dressed. He smiled that it was nice to see Sophie happy, but she needed to pull it together.

"Fun time's over Soph. We should get to the hospital. We can buy breakfast on the way, my treat," he said as he finished buttoning up a light blue dress shirt.

He was glad to hear that Eliot was awake. Now the rehabilitation could start. As he was about to slip his jeans on; he caught sight of Sophie running around nekkid looking for her undies. He went to her drawer in his closet and pulled her out a pair of purple lacy panties and tossed them at her.

"Thanks. Did you want to text Hardison?"

"No, no. We should wait until we've been to the hospital," he zipped up all the important bits and grabbed a dark gray sweatshirt off a hanger.

"Right, no need to pull him from his geekdom just yet," she spoke before she zipped up her important bits in her jeans.

"I'll go get the car."

"Be there in a few minutes," Sophie kissed him before he turned to go.

They hit the nearest McDonald's for breakfast on the way to the hospital. They ate mid route and parked in the parking garage a few minutes later. Official visiting hours didn't start until 9:00a.m. and Patrick and Ophelia Ford were there at 8:00a.m. Once they were inside the building and signed in as visitors with special permission from Dr. Milton, Nate turned to Sophie.

"You go on, there's something I have to do."

"Are you okay? I can wait."

"Yeah, yeah, just go on and I'll be there in a few."

"'Kay, not too long."

"Promise, now go on."

Nate watched her until she disappeared into the right elevator to take her up to where Parker was with Eliot. He turned and headed for the small chapel again. He found it empty and so he took up the same seat he had when he first entered the room. He bowed his head and got quiet… There was so much to say that Nate didn't know where to begin.

"Father God, I owe you one. Thanks for bringing Eliot back. I know he still has more to heal from, but I just wanted to say thanks. Please continue to be there for us and Eliot as he continues to move forward. Thank you for giving us all strength to get this far,' Nate entreated in his head. 'Amen.'

He sat there in the silence a few minutes and then left the tiny chapel to go celebrate Eliot's victory.

A few minutes after Parker had pressed the nurse button, Anisette came into the room to see what was going on. She had her eyes closed and head bowed, focusing her energy on the word, 'Healing.'

"What is it my dear?"

"He woke up," Parker looked up as more tears slipped from her eyes. "He moved his hand three times. He couldn't open his eyes, but I don't think he's ready yet. I tried to keep him calm. He's resting now."

"Well now, that's wonderful news," Anisette said lowly so she wouldn't suddenly wake the patient for no reason. "I'll go get Doctor Milton. He'll want to come in and check Lazar's vitals himself."

"'Kay."

Anisette turned on her heels and left the room. Five minutes later she returned with Dr. Milton. He walked in with his stethoscope in his hand and the chart in the other. He moved up close to the bed on the right and began to write a few things into Eliot's vital sheet at the top of the chart. Then he handed the chart to Anisette. Parker stood up and moved to Eliot's ear.

"Lazar, the doctor is here. He needs to check you out," she softly spoke to him. He squeezed her hand to let her know that he was awake.

"Hello Mister Ford. I'm Doctor Milton, please don't try to talk. You have a tube down your throat to help you breathe. I'm going to check you out now. I'll try to be quick and gentle as I can. Try to stay calm."

He began to listen to Eliot's heart. Then he moved on to his lungs. After that check, he went for his eyes.

"Turn off the lights," he called to Anisette and she did as he asked right away. "And dim the blinds."

Once the room was dark enough he lifted Eliot's eye lid and shined a bright little light in each one which panicked the poor man; it made his eyes hurt. Parker held onto his hand on the left and stroked his forearm to keep him calmed down. It worked rather well. Anisette turned the lights back on and opened the blinds to allow the day light in. The doctor checked Eliot's wounds without Parker seeing anything because she didn't want to look at them. She wasn't ready for all that yet. He couldn't check the fractures or broken bones yet because he needed to order a new set of x-rays first. She was glad that the doctor seemed pleased.

"Well, his eyes look good and so far his heart sounds good. I'm ordering a full x-ray work up so we can check how his bones are healing. Now that he is conscious, he must stay calm for the next few days. So, that being said, he won't have to move. The portable machine will come to him. You will have to leave the room for just a few minutes so we can get accurate pictures. If he does well, I don't see why he can't move to ICU on the first of September."

"Now that… Is wonderful news," Sophie spoke from the doorway, "Good morning, Doctor Milton. How is my nephew?"

Parker was glad to see the grifter was able to get in to see Eliot so early. She stayed by his side and Sophie naturally gravitated toward her. The two women quickly hugged as Parker still held Eliot's hand.

"He's improving which is a good sign, but he's not out of the woods yet. We still have to watch him for infection. The drainage so far has been good, but he's been on his back for quite some time now. But like I said; if he does keep improving, well, say in the next two weeks or so he can move into the ICU."


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N - HAPPY NEW YEAR!**

**HAPPY NEW ELIOT!**

**There's a BIG surprise in this chapter and I hope you all enjoy it. Even you lurkers out there who don't review... I think you'll like it too.**

**Anyway, HAPPY NEW YEAR!**

Eliot felt bad for Parker; that he couldn't open his eyes for her and his blood pressure began to send the machines into worried beeping. In time he could manage to complete the task, but everything wasn't up to working order yet. And when she told him to rest and he felt her hand… He indeed could feel that she had him, had him with a firm hold, and so he answered her grip with his fingers closing in on hers. He'd heard some panic in her voice as well, but then it turned into something soothing as she caressed his upper arm to calm him down. It worked for a little bit and he fought fading back to sleep as the next dose of pain medicine began to kick in. The next thing he felt was Parker grabbing onto his hand with the hard object between their hands. He heard her call someone and tell them that he'd woken up twice. He assumed one of those times was to someone on the team and the other was to get the doctor. Eliot considered finally fading off… He wasn't really up to getting poked and prodded so soon after waking up.

Then the nurse came in and he knew the doctor couldn't be far off. He drifted off for a few minutes while the nurse went to get the doctor. Looks like getting poked and prodded was coming sooner than he planned. Parker got up and spoke in his ear so soft that he wondered if she was his guardian angel or something. Well, it was an honest guess… She did have a gift for flying through the air and she did save his ass… There he was going back to that idea that Parker was his Clarence, without her wings. He squeezed her hand to let her know that he was present with her. Then this Doctor Milton began to speak. So that's why he was tasting plastic… He needed help to breathe.

'Well how soon is it coming out so I can breathe on my own, dammit?' He thought. 'Try to stay calm? You try bein' in my position buddy and tell yourself to be calm…'

Eliot felt the cold of the stethoscope probe on his chest. Then he felt the pressure when it moved over the bandages over his lower chest by his lungs. Things seemed to be moving rather quickly… Maybe this would be over sooner than he thought. And then the man went for his eyes… At least he was decent enough to have the room dark before he forced his eyes open.

'Fuck! The light!' He reflected as his eyes began to hurt. Maybe that pain medication wasn't as strong as he thought…

And then Parker was there caressing his forearm to relax him. He hoped she wasn't giving him a serious hard on and he couldn't feel it… Then he knew when the lights were back on because the darkness left the inside of his eye lid. Then the poor man had to endure tape ripping off his chest and more poking and prodding as the doctor checked incisions and draining wounds.

'Suck it up soldier, you're no pansy, you will overcome this too,' the faceless voice spoke again and Eliot wondered if he was hallucinating…

Then the good news came… Things looked good but he needed new x-rays… At least he wouldn't have to move right off the bat. They'd have to come and maneuver him to get the right angles of the pictures the doctor needed. That would hurt… Maybe he could get a dose of stronger pain killers before then. The greatest news was that he might get to leave soon… But when was the first of September? What day was it? How long had he been asleep? Stay calm for the next few days? Did that mean it was close to the end of the month already? Then surprise, surprise, Sophie had arrived, which meant that Nate wasn't far behind. He had to give the poor man credit; he was really trying hard not to fall apart through this whole mess. Eliot considered buying him a beer or something stronger when he got out of the hospital. Sophie seemed a bit too perky for his liking. She got that way after shopping, a good ending after a job finished well, or when she and Nate were fuckin' at the loft, which he accidently found out about one evening when he came back to Nate's to pick up the grocery list for the week. He wondered if she was glowing…

This Milton character filled her in some, but he worried that what the Doc said was true. They would have to watch him closely that he didn't get pneumonia after lying so long. That would be a bitch to get rid of because he'd have to cough and he'd just had his chest cracked open. Okay so it would be a new month in two weeks… Eliot tried to figure out what day it was but he started to get too tired to stay conscious any longer. He drifted back to sleep as Parker and Sophie kept watch over him.

The doctor wrote a bit more in the folder of paperwork for Lazarus Ford; orders for chest x-rays, front and lateral, both of his legs, front and lateral, his four ribs, front and lateral, and last but not least, his fractured right arm, front and lateral. And a quick jot down for more antibiotics and more pain medication as needed.

"You ladies have a good day," he said before he left. Anisette left behind him to enter the new orders into the system.

"You too," Sophie responded as Parker was lost in her own world as she watched Eliot sleep.

Parker had known when he had drifted back to sleep, because his grip slackened a little. She continued to hold on in case he woke again.

"It's going to be all right…" Sophie sighed as if she was holding a breath she'd forgotten to use. "Nate is here downstairs. He should be along in a few minutes."

"I can't hate Mondays anymore. He woke up today on a Monday," Parker spoke in a random thought.

"I'm glad he's getting better. I was beginning to miss Mr. Grouchy."

"Have you told Hardison yet?"

"Did you want us to? Nate was going to wait. Keep sending him off to conventions or horde gatherings, or whatever he's into until we're ready."

"Sophie, he's going to figure out something's wrong when we don't let him know. He can get into the hospital records."

"Point to Bethany Ford," Nate said from the doorway.

"You just missed him. He's sleeping. The doctor just checked him; it was a bit rough," Parker spoke up.

"Don't wake him. What'd the doctor say?"

"If he continues to improve, he can move into the ICU on the first," Sophie lowly spoke so she wouldn't wake Eliot.

"Good news then. What do you think I should do about Hardison?" He asked Parker.

He was hoping that she would go with the plan he had in mind, but he wanted to receive her opinion first.  
His plan was to keep Hardison in the dark for a bit longer, sending him away to another convention, horde gathering, or something of that nature; maybe at least until Eliot got moved into the ICU. Keeping him in the dark was kind of payback for his bad behavior. They might have a situation on their hands because Nate knew that Hardison could hack into Eliot's records if they waited much longer to keep him in the loop. Parker looked at Eliot like she was trying to decide what was best for him because he didn't have a voice… Yet. Nate leaned against the wall at the foot of the bed closest to Sophie and crossed his arms, waiting for a decision.

"What are my options?"

"I could send him off to another geek convention, electronics show, or horde gathering…"

"How about a cruise to Jamaica," Sophie suggested.

"No, hurricane season is coming soon," Parker said.

Parker thought it over and decided that the best thing for all of them would be to have Hardison go to any of the places Nate suggested, maybe even all of them. The team could always use new and up and coming electronics for jobs. Geek conventions might lead to new ways to hack and get a few more steps ahead of Chaos. Maybe the three of them could come up with a job for him to do the prep work on and then they could table the job… Either way, she was not ready to see him again. Their relationship was over and their friendship was in danger of the same fate. She realized that they needed time apart; more so for him than her. He needed to grow up a little bit more.

"Send him off on your suggestions. I'll call him once Eliot moves to ICU."

"No, I'll handle telling him. You have enough to worry about."

"Thanks, Nate, from Eliot too. I don't want him to get the idea that we're trying to replace him or something like that. We're not breaking up the team; I just need to get Eliot better before Hardison comes back. He needs to remember that friends are there for each other when there's a crisis, not to throw a jealous fit and hurt the ones you call family."

"No problem," Nate pushed up from the wall. "I'll go make some calls."

By Sunday morning, Eliot had gone through all of the x-rays, the removal of his IV line and the insertion of a new IV line, and more lab work. It was the hospital's policy to move the IV line every 7 days. There were some difficulties in all of it, but Parker had been right there to soothe him. He hadn't opened his eyes yet and Parker was concerned. So, instead of asking Anisette or Doctor Milton, she turned off the lights, closed the main room door, and the blinds, so that the only light in the room was from the bathroom. She even pushed the door to halfway closed in case that light was too bright. Then she came right back to Eliot who was awake. She took up his hand in hers with the rose quartz between them and held on to him. She stood and put the railing down again before she leaned down to him.

"Eliot, I know it's not easy, but could you open your eyes for me? Please try again; I need to see those eyes. I darkened the room for you and everything. The doctor isn't here to put light in your eyes, promise," Parker whisperingly pled softly. "Just for me…"

She watched his face intently from her seat as his eyelashes showed signs of movement.

Parker had asked so sweetly her request that Eliot decided he had to try for her. He slowly began to lift his eyelids. It was easier to adjust to not having much light in the room. He lifted them all the way and then blinked once to adjust his focus since all he could really see was the ceiling. Then the shadow of Parker's head appeared in his line of sight. He couldn't see her face because the light from the bathroom was behind her. He could see the light hit her hair and he imagined she had a halo because he thought she was an angel. She had been there by his side when he'd done all the x-rays which weren't easy, even with the pain medication. She did try to help and the best thing she did was to keep him relaxed and calm. The only easy thing all week had been when Anisette had put in the new IV line in a different spot on his right hand. She was so good he didn't feel it, but then he didn't know that she had used a numbing agent before she had started. The doctor had been in after the x-rays came back and he happened to hear that things were healing well, almost too fast. They were on target to move to ICU on September 1st. That had been the best news all week. He couldn't wait to get rid of the damn tube down his throat and get up off his backside.

She couldn't see his beautiful blue eyes in such low light, but she knew they were there. Parker couldn't help herself as she took off the imitation shower cap on his head so that she could see his hair. He almost looked normal, except for the tube down his throat, helping him breathe. Then she leaned over as she held his hand and placed a gentle kiss upon his forehead.

"Thank you," she murmured. "Thank you for doing that just for me. I needed that."

By asking him to open his eyes, she was trying to prove to herself that everything was going to be all right again. Sure, Anisette, other nurses, and Dr. Milton had tried to reassure her, but she didn't trust them like she did Nate and Sophie. And if he could open his eyes, then maybe, just maybe they would be able to take out the breathing tube soon. That would be another real miracle in Eliot's recovery.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N - Well, my Hardison Muse wouldn't quit whining about needing an outlet... So I had to give him one or I couldn't sleep. **

**There's a little Parker in this chapter, but it's mostly Hardison...**

**I hope you like it and please review!**

**Thanks!**

When Hardison arrived at the Madison Marriot West he was ready to drop. The hassles he went through at the Salt Lake City Airport just to make his connection had him tired and frustrated. The hassles with the TSA weren't because he was traveling with his Orc killing weapons; they were because they wouldn't let him on the flight with a two liter bottle of orange soda in his backpack. You couldn't travel with such a large amount of liquid in a carry-on. He just wanted to check in and crash into a soft hotel bed and sleep. If he could sleep right up until the registration for the convention, that would be perfect. He was a head of time for the convention to start so there was plenty of time to check out the hotel or hack into things he shouldn't. He wheeled his carry-on bag up to the counter of the front desk and pulled out his wallet. Alec was ready to max out his credit cards on comic books, gaming supplies, and electronics…

"May I help you, sir?"

"Yes, yes, you can. There's a reservation for Alec Hardy and I am so ready to check in."

The African-American woman named Shakora began to type on the keyboard. She had to be in her middle twenties, probably working off her undergraduate debt. A little more clickity-clack with her overly long manicured nails and then she stopped. He wondered what it was about black women and overly long fingernails that weren't meant to ever be used on keyboards. Maybe it was right up there with hair weaves and blond highlights…

"I'm sorry, sir. We don't have a record of that name in the system."

"What?"

"There is no record of you in our system."

"That cain't be woman, my name is there. I just flew here from Portland, through hell in Salt Lake City to get here, and you're tellin' me I ain't in the system!"

"There's no need to get upset. Maybe it's under another name…"

Hardison was considering totally screwing up Nate's financial records if they couldn't find his name. If not find a café somewhere and hack in to make things go his way.

"Try Morgan Hardison."

"No, not here."

"My name has to be there somewhere. I belong to the WOW-OFA and in a few days there are going to be thousands of people descending on this hotel. My name better be in there…"

"The what?"

"World of Warcraft-Orc Fighting Association," she clickity-clacked again…

"Nothing of the kind here, sir. Do you have the right hotel?"

"Yes I do! I did not just come here to this damn city for my health! I am tired and exhausted, I just want to check into my room and sleep," Hardison was practically in tears… "I'm here for this weekend and my friends will be upset if I'm not there."

"Wait, you're here for ? Well you should have said so sooner. Let me check again. We have a separate list of people here for the convention from regular guests."

She did her tickling of the keys and found one Alec Hardy in the system.

"Here we are. How would you like to pay for your room?"

Alec looked at her like she had grown a second head. He had begun to think she was an idiot because she couldn't find his name in the damn computer. But she saved the day and he got his prized room. He crashed into the bed and slept like a baby for 6 hours.

When Hardison woke up he hit his jacket for his cell phone. He texted Nate and let him know that he made it to the hotel. Then he started typing away on his laptop to track where his friends were that he played World of Warcraft with on the internet. He didn't find too many in town, but a few of his favorite players were there at the hotel. He figured the rest might come in just before the convention. The only girl in the WOW-OFA happened to be at the hotel a few floors beneath him. Alec figured things were over for good between him and Parker after what he pulled with Eliot. Maybe later when he got back to Portland he could still salvage the friendship he had with her. He was still upset at Eliot, so he wasn't ready to apologize to anyone yet for his behavior. After unpacking a bit and setting up his network of laptop, iPad, iPod, and iPhone tools, he changed into his Orc fighter's costume. He slipped his iPhone into a special pocket in his costume and went off in search of Alfie Mosby.

He found her room number because he'd hacked into the hotel's reservation system. He showed up at her door in costume and knocked on her door, of course she had no idea he was coming… When she opened the door, she happened to be in her Orc fighter's costume as well. It was a cross between the Xena: Warrior Princess and Wonder Woman outfits. His was more like the Hercules: Legendary Journey outfit but his had a jacket to go with the muscle shirt. He also had two swords to hold… But they were safely tucked in their scabbards on his back.

"Alec!" She squealed as she jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.

"Hey baby, happy to see me?"

"Are you here for the convention?"

"Oh yeah baby, wouldn't miss it for the world," he said as he walked into her hotel room to give them a little bit of privacy.

"I was just trying my costume on to see if it still fit. The con's not for a few days yet."

"Lookin' damn good," he spoke before he set her feet on the floor.

"Guess that means I don't need to alter it then. Did you bring your friend with you? What's her name? Um…"

"No. Uh we ain't together no more."

"Oh, sorry. Forget what's-her-name then. There's more for me anyway," Alfie uttered as she moved in on Parker's leftovers.

And the really sad thing was that Hardison didn't correct her… He actually seemed to accept the idea.

Hardison had a blast over the weekend at the convention with Alfie. She helped him bury the pain of the loss of his relationship with Parker so well. He got to look at the latest products from Apple and bought a few rare comic books to add to his collection. He got to meet up with the rest of the Orc fighters he wanted to see that weekend and got to pre-order a few games. The really neat gadget he had to show Nate was glasses and sunglasses that were able to have computer windows on them. All you had to do was wear the chips in a small piece attached to the earpiece of the glasses behind the ear. He bought a set for each one of the team, including Eliot. As he was packing that Sunday night to go back to Portland he thought about what he'd said to Eliot in bed that day; maybe the hitter wasn't at fault… After all Eliot hadn't intentionally stolen Parker from him. He was asleep when the whole thing went south and he'd practically yelled at him for it. Hardison didn't think the man would be that mean now that he thought about every job they'd been on together. But, Eliot had practically admitted that he was a monster in the past. No, he admitted to himself, the hitter would have tried to talk to him first…

When he finished zipping up the bag, he got a text from Nate that he was to head to Chicago and the Wizard World Convention at the end of the week. It was only a little over a 2 and a half hour drive to the city. He texted him the confirmation numbers for the registration, hotel, and the rental car. It was then that Alec looked to find that it had only been a one way fare by plane. He would have had to buy his flight to get home… He let it go and went down to Alfie's room. He knocked on her door and hoped that she hadn't left yet. Then she opened the door with her robe on and Hardison lost all thought. They'd slept together several times over the weekend, what was one more? The woman was built like Halle Berry and she was just as nimble as Parker. Though Alfie hadn't stolen anything… No, she was an independent real estate agent for the Seattle, Washington area. Several hours later into the super early Monday morning, Hardison checked out with Alfie and she took her car back to the rental place and hopped into Alec's car that Nate had reserved. At least he hadn't gotten him a Prius. Ha, a Chevy Volt wasn't that far off… But it got excellent gas mileage.

When they got to Chicago, this time, there wasn't a problem checking in. Once they did, Hardison took Alfie around exploring the city. And when Saturday came, he wasn't expecting a text, but one came in from Parker.

[SpiderMonkey: Eliot moved 2 ICU. P.]

[YouCan'tHackThis: Is that good? H.]

[SpiderMonkey: Yes. P.]

[YouCan'tHackThis: Thanks. I'm sorry. Can we B friends? H.]

There was no answer for the longest time… Which was only a few minutes, but it felt like an eternity after what he'd done.

[SpiderMonkey: Yes, but U can't C Eliot yet. P.]

[SpiderMonkey: Not 'til he's better. P.]

[YouCan'tHackThis: Fine. Whatever U want. H.]

Well, the good news was that she still wanted to be friends with him. It was a good sign. But then he wondered how she would react to the fact that he not only had a girl with him but earlier that morning she'd become his wife. They had gotten married at the convention by a man in a Gandalf the White costume. He was an ordained minister as his day job. They'd met while in line for autographs from some huge comic book God. It was a mutual agreement between the two. They'd conversed with each other for several years before the team got together. They had been at several conventions over the now 10 year relationship. Hardison had fallen for Parker when they had a little cool off period to see other people. She hadn't really had much time to find anyone worthy of being a significant other because she was busy with her real estate work and well, he was a man… After the jobs kissing with Parker, he thought he'd give it a shot… And well, he very well knew how that relationship ended. Being with Alfie was perfect; they'd picked up where they'd left off. And yes, Alfie had known about Parker because he'd shared some things with her. Not in detail, but she wanted to keep tabs on Alec. And she let him know who she'd dated while they were apart most were just one date flings because she always compared them to Hardison and they just weren't of the same intelligence level.

Hardison hoped that the team wouldn't be too mad over his marriage. He hoped they would keep his cover. Yes, he worked for Leverage Consulting & Associates but he hadn't told her about him being a hacker extraordinaire. She just knew that he took care of the computers for his boss. After the Wizard Con, they spent two weeks in Jamaica for their honeymoon… At the pinnacle of the hurricane season… They got introduced to 3 hurricanes while they were there and fortunately they survived them all.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N - Family is finally settled here at home while the others have gone home. ****I'm sorry for the delay but I have two new chapters so I'm sure you'll forgive us.**

**I hope to get a few more done soon. I have to come back in for dialysis tomorrow so you might just get chapter 17 as well this week. **

**I hope you like it and please review! TTFN!**

**PS: Those of you that write... Can you help me figure out to get spaces between paragraphs? For some reason, when I save the document, it deletes the spaces and it looks like a run-on story... Thanks if you can help!**

The day before they were due to move Eliot into the ICU, it was a full moon. Parker looked at her wrist and saw her rose quartz bracelet and was reminded of her intentions that she had set into motion on the morning of the new moon. Now, she needed to find ways to take actions on those intentions she had written down in her journal; she needed to keep them alive. With a trip into the bathroom to prepare, to retrieve her ritual bag from the air duct in there, she had her journal with her. Things had to be different this time… She didn't dare dream of lighting anything now that Eliot could wake up and see her, a nurse, or Eliot's doctor could come in and she would be in BIG trouble; so, no rituals this occasion. Parker decidedly went simple. She grounded herself like she had before and calmed down; however she felt a strange power come over her. She checked her watch on the other wrist and it was 6:59a.m. The full moon had begun! At the time of the full moon, the energy she put behind her intentions had built and built. There was kind of an explosive feeling in the air; all of nature had grown and became more vital at the full moon.

The surge of power Parker felt would allow her to take action on her new moon intentions. It could be a disaster if she went over the top with Eliot, she might even push him away if she weren't careful; but she was ready to have some fun. She hoped that she would be able to celebrate any signs of change between them. So, that Friday morning right at 7:00a.m., she stood over him and placed a kiss to his forehead; quick enough to be honorable but not a lingering one. Then she lightly caressed his hair as she ran her fingers through it. He slowly opened his eyes and she got to see his beautiful blue eyes once more in the morning light. She'd been enjoying the sight of them since he'd tried harder and opened them for her on more occasions.

"Good morning," she softly uttered and knew he couldn't respond.

Then she sat back gently at his hip and took up his hand in hers. He had left the small whitish and light pink stone on the bed, so she picked it up and put it in the palm of her hand before she rested his hand on top of the stone and her hand. Then she placed her left hand over the both of them. As Parker looked into his face, she thought his eyes were so expressive.

Oddly enough, that morning Eliot had been dreaming he was back floating in the darkness. But this time he was able to see things… Things like trees due to a full moon's light and when he looked up, he saw a parachute. He looked over to his right and saw some of his buddies. He was remembering when he was back in the service. He recalled being on missions where he had to parachute in, in the damn middle of the night to use the element of surprise against the enemy; that specific morning, he was reminded of his part in helping to liberate Croatia. Just as he was about to touch the ground, he felt something soft and warm upon his forehead. And then just as sudden, it was gone. In its place he could smell jasmine… Parker was near… Then he felt very relaxed. She was stroking his hair and it was almost making him want to purr with satisfaction.

Eliot rewarded her with opening his eyes for her. Her smile ran from ear to ear. He wanted to reply to her so badly that he almost chomped down on the air hose again. He blinked at her and she sat down on the bed before his hand was once again encompassed within hers. She looked tired but happy. The sun hit her hair and he couldn't help but think, 'Angel,' or was she a, 'little devil,'? After all, she was, 'twenty pounds of crazy in a five pound bag.' He started to get sleepy again but before he could nod off he heard her talking to him.

Parker had Sophie go get her a book or two from her place for her to read to Eliot. She told her that she didn't care what she brought as long as it was something new that she hadn't read before. Well, Sophie was Sophie and instead went to a bookstore. She bought her a handful of things to read but the one Parker liked the most was that she'd found her a copy of, 'The Princess Bride.' So, Parker had started to read it to Eliot as she sat there by his side. She smiled that it kind of fit her intentions as she was trying to insert a little romance into their friendship and being as subtle as she could possibly be. A while later when she felt his hand go slack, she knew he had gone back to sleep. The machines recorded his vitals getting a bit slower but still steady so Parker knew not to panic.

"How is he?" Anisette whispered as she came into the room.

"Asleep. He opened his eyes a bit a little while ago."

"That's good. I came to let you know, they have a bed in ICU ready for him. He'll be moving first thing tomorrow morning. And I brought you some cereal and juice…"

"Oooh, goodies," Parker smiled again as Anisette handed her a small box of frosted corn flakes and lucky charms kind of cereal with a box of apple and grape juices.

The nurse got to work writing down Eliot's vitals for Dr. Milton into Lazarus Ford's chart. At least Parker was glad that they'd slowed down doing all the blood work once Dr. Milton was satisfied that Eliot's heart was holding on its own. However, when they moved him to ICU they were going to have to draw more labs to make sure he made the transition safely.

"Will they make my brother get up when he has to go to the ICU?" Parker asked as she kept up her cover.

"Oh no, my dear. They will wheel him out of here in his bed. Then he'll ride up a floor and into the ICU. It's here in the east wing of the hospital, right above us.

"That's good. How long again before we get to the respiratory therapy?"

"It's up to your brother and Dr. Milton. But when he moves to the RICU he'll be under another doctor's care. If Lazar holds his own after the transfer, it shouldn't be too long after that. And it all depends on if the RICU has a place for him there. They have to wait until spaces open up, up there."

"Oh. How much longer will he need help to breathe?"

"They will probably remove the tube when he goes to the RICU."

"Why can't they in ICU?"

"Because if they did and he couldn't breathe on his own, they would have to re-intubate him and that could cause more damage to his throat and vocal cords."

"Okay, nope. Don't want that to happen," she said as she thought how bad it would be if Eliot couldn't sing any more.

"Just remember, he's on the mend…"

Bright and early, Saturday, the 1st of September, at 6:30 in the morning, just before sunrise Anisette came in with a couple of orderlies from the ICU. Parker had startled awake when she'd heard the footsteps and hushed voices. Anisette approached her slowly…

"Bethany, sweetie, it's time to move him. These nice guys are here to take him up to the ICU and you and I will follow them."

"Oh. Okay."

So Parker grabbed her bag that she'd retrieved from the air vent the night before when things had quieted down overnight. She packed Bunny and her books in it before she was ready. She had Sophie take Eliot's bag of clothing and personal things home to Nate's place. She held his hand all through the ride to keep him calm as he slept through the whole ride. Fortunately, he slept the rest of the morning until Parker woke him up around 9 o'clock, when Sophie and Nate appeared. She let them have a few moments alone with him as she went out in the hall to stretch her legs. Parker sent the text message to Hardison that Eliot had been moved. She was glad when his answer came back right away. Yes, it was good that he had been transferred to another floor; it was damn near fantastic because Eliot was getting better. Parker saw Alec's apology and that he wanted to be friends… She needed time to consider his offer. Could she still trust him as a friend? He was apologizing and family apologized when they did something wrong. She decided to forgive him but she didn't have to forget…

So a few minutes later, Parker told him that she would still be friends, but he couldn't see Eliot yet. She wasn't ready and that was the condition to their reforming friendship. They needed boundaries to build trust again… And he had agreed to it by letting her know that he would do whatever she wanted to get back in her good graces. After all that she went into the connecting hallway between the east and west towers of the hospital where she could see the outside. The pathway walls were floor to ceiling windows so the view was quite good. Parker noted that there weren't enough trees to look at, mainly just rooftops. But she was happy too, looking at rooftops, because she day dreamed a little as she thought about which ones she'd like to jump off of. She missed getting that rush of a free fall to the ground, what adrenalin! But she would give it all up until Eliot was back on his feet to be there with her when she jumped off of those buildings.

Sophie took up the location closest to Eliot when they came up to see him. She was glad that Parker had trusted them enough to leave Eliot with them, alone. She held his hand as Nate stood against the wall at his feet, with arms crossed. Without thinking of topics to talk to Eliot about, she said the first thing right off the top of her head.

"Nate sent Hardison away for a while. You and Parker needed some quiet time. I'm glad you're getting better and I know you want to get off this bed, but you must take time to heal. I just know that soon, you'll be breathing on your own and want to tell us all to shut up."

"You did good kiddo, even though you went down, we still had enough and took the mark down. He went to jail yesterday afternoon," Nate spoke as he pushed off from the wall and came within Eliot's view.

"It's good to see you awake," Sophie smiled where he could see.

Eliot blinked, 'yes,' with his eyes.

"As soon as I get the chance, I'll burn you a DVD of the games you're missing. I've got the ones you, Hardison, and I planned to watch recorded. You'll have a lot to catch up on when you get out of here," Nate offered.

"I'll have food catered while you gentlemen watch your manly events. Parker and I will go out and steal something to pass the time," Sophie teased.

"Fine, just don't get caught," Nate backed away from the bed. "I'll go check on Parker."

After he left, Sophie got in close and talked to Eliot, grifter to hitter, about their mutual mastermind. She saw the questions in his eyes.

"Nate, Nate is doing better. He hit the bottle when you first came here, but then he's been better since then. I haven't needed to get him to a meeting or anything like that yet. We haven't really discussed the past very much, but I'm not going to push him. You know how he gets. He's taking one step at a time I think." She tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. "I know you think all this is your fault. It isn't and I'm not going to bloody hell let you or Nate beat yourselves up over what happened. The point is that we got our mark and I know we're all going to come out of this bloody mess closer and stronger as a team."

Sophie really didn't mean to get all, 'Mama Bear,' on Eliot or Nate but it was needed to show that it would lead to no good for the team if the two men were unraveling their self-confidences. Hardison wasn't included because he had only just put his foot in his mouth and not the same as Nate and Eliot. She knew they had a good, no, great team… Now if she could only keep them together… At one point while she'd been in bed with Nate the past few nights she'd considered calling up Tara to come and help out. However, she wasn't exactly sure what to have her do, so she hadn't called. Sophie pondered just calling her to let her know that Eliot was out of commission for the time being. Maybe the tall grifter could suggest a way she could help?

"Nate sent Hardison to some geek gatherings or tech shows or something in Wisconsin and Chicago after he left here. He says he's found some cool new gadgets to use. We'll have him come home in a while."


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N - I hope you like it my lurking followers and those of you that feed my muses with reviews!**

**Enjoy!**

Nate found Parker leaning against a glass panel in the hall between the new wings. Her back was to him so he didn't want to sneak up on her. He actually walked past her and then turned to stand a few feet from her but not invading her personal space.

"Hey," he softly spoke so he wouldn't spook her.

"Hi."

"What's goin' on with you? You don't seem like Parker."

"I let Alec know Eliot has been moved here."

"And?"

"He said he was sorry and wanted to still be friends."

"Why does that upset you?"

"I remembered what he said to Eliot and what happened… I don't wanna forget."

"Parker, you don't have to, but don't let it eat at you."

Parker nodded in acceptance.

"You remember when I used to run jobs with a bottle?"

"Don't I ever," she smiled.

"Well, you all, in one way or another, forgave me. We had to rebuild the trust between us to keep the team together. And now we're damn better than ever, except for what happened on this last job. I swear, Parker, I planned for every scenario, and Eliot got hurt. Despite what Sophie tries to tell me, I still blame myself. I should have seen it coming."

Parker folded her arms like Eliot and leaned her back against the glass as she pondered what he had said.

"No, it's my fault. I should have been there to take them down before stealing what we needed."

Nate looked pained that she was blaming herself, "No Parker, Eliot would have wanted you to do your job first. Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is, you can forgive Hardison, but he's going to have to earn your trust."

"Thanks Nate, I feel better," she pushed off from the glass wall.

He put his arm around her and kissed her temple.

"Good, now let's get back before Sophie talks Eliot's ears off."

Nate and Sophie were about to leave as it got close to 11:00 in the morning, when a doctor they didn't recognize came into the room. She was tall, a red head, and wore emerald green Minolo Blahniks. For some reason, Parker's, 'Spidey Senses,' began to tingle. Something about the woman was rubbing her the wrong way, and she hadn't said a word yet. If they looked, Nate and Sophie could both see the, 'Green-Eyed Monster,' awakening in Parker. The thief possessively took Eliot's hand in hers. The ailing hitter was asleep since he'd gotten more pain medication.

"Oh, good morning. I see I have an audience today. I'm Doctor Cassandra Ruehl. I will be Mister Ford's physician while he's here in ICU."

"I'm his Aunt Ophelia, and this is his Uncle Nathan, and over there is Lazar's Sister Bethany," Sophie spoke up so Parker didn't have to.

"Good, good. It's nice to see when my patients have family around them."

"I'm not leaving," Parker simply stated fact.

"What is the course of treatment now, Doctor?" Nate queried.

"Well, your nephew may stay here two weeks to a month. It depends on how well he heals and when the RICU has a space to take him on. Right now they're full. That's not to someone might finish their course and get to go home. Then we can squeeze him in."

"He'll get better. I'm here," Parker was totally turning into a nine year old again.

"I'm sure he will," Cassandra said kindly. I am quite surprised he's done so well up until this point. His labs are absolutely perfect."

"I helped him get better," the thief uttered.

The doctor took Sophie and Nate out into the hall to talk to them alone.

"Please forgive me, but, is Bethany all right to be left alone with her brother? If not, I would prefer that one of you stay with him."

"Oh, Beth is good with Lazarus. She gets a little possessive at times. She doesn't like hospital or doctors very much," Sophie voiced.

"She lost her brother Ben at a young age so that's part of the reason behind her motives."

"I see. She's trying to hold on to the brother she has left. Does she have any other siblings?"

"No," Nate answered, which probably wasn't entirely true, but there was no time to have Hardison hook something up.

"Okay then. I will be back to check on your nephew in a couple days to make sure the transition was smooth. The nurses will page me if there's any change in his condition."

"Thank you," Sophie spoke up.

"No problem."

The couple went back to check in on Parker. She had been playing her cover perfectly. No one could mistake that Bethany and Lazarus Ford weren't related. Parker still held Eliot's hand in hers, with the rose quartz between them. Obviously it was having some good benefits for the hitter because his blood work was coming out good.

'How dare that doctor take the credit for what I've done…?' Parker thought alone.

"I don't like her. She makes me tingle in the wrong sense. Can I get a different doctor?"

"No. She's just fine," Nate spoke in a father-like tone.

"Listen, we're going to head out and we'll be back later. Is there anything you need?" Sophie asked.

"Nope, I have my bag here. Um, maybe some new clothes."

"I will be back later with those then," Sophie threw her purse strap up on her shoulder and then gave Parker a half hug while the thief sat next to Eliot.

'I will heal you. Not them,' Parker promised her in her mind after the mastermind and grifter left.

At night, Parker tried to watch the night sky through tinted windows as best she could. It allowed her to stretch her legs while Eliot slept. Everything had gone well after the transfer but they still had problems finding a bed for Lazarus in the RICU. On the doctor front, fortunately, Dr. Ruehl's visits were uneventful. Parker just totally faked being asleep when she heard the, 'distinctive,' click of those Minolo Blahnick's on the linoleum tile flooring. She could see that there was another new moon coming soon, which meant it was time for another ritual. As luck would have it, this time the new moon would be in the evening, just before sunset. Waiting for the 15th of September to come was like watching a pots boiling water; it couldn't come fast enough. So, until the night of the new moon she began to consider what new intentions to set.

Well, through much patience and thought, Parker waited and the evening of the new moon came. She waited until Eliot was asleep and then she pulled out her sacred objects bag out of the bigger backpack. The picture of Eliot, the guitar pick, and the t-shirt. She had already retrieved the rose quartz wishing stone from Eliot's hand. She also still had on her rose quartz bracelet on. Out of the small pouch she plucked out the small sachet of dried lavender flower buds, the small tube of lavender oil, and another tiny two inch red candle all got spread out on the bedside table in front of the window. She spread her blue sweater over the items to hide them. She took her Ziploc bag of sea salt and went into the restroom to take a quick ritual bath in the sink. After she dried off and dressed, she checked to make sure the door was closed before she lit the sage wand and blew it out. She followed the same motions to make the space around her and Eliot sacred. Then she put the wand out with some water from the sink. Then she pulled out her journal for a record of her new intentions. Most of the nurses pretty much left her alone so she had no idea when one would pop back in to check on something.

Luckily, she hadn't set off the fire alarms from the smoke of the sage in either of the units. Next she had to ground herself with the earth energy. This time she took off her shoes and recalled that there was earth under the building that was under her feet. She closed her eyes and pictured the energy once again moving through the floor and into each Chakra of her form. It left through her hands and circled around her before she took a seat in front of the table. Now calm, she remembered the list of new intentions she wanted to set and wrote them down in her small journal. She took off her bracelet and put the stone into her wishing bag before she dumped some fresh lavender from the sachet into the same bag. She wrote her intentions on a slip of paper and put it in the wishing bag before she tied it off. Parker inhaled some of the calming lavender and then started her incantation over the sack. Once the intentions were charged with power, she put a drop of lavender oil on the tiny red candle and put it in the little holder. Exactly at 7:12 in the evening, she lit the candle and held the small wishing satchel in her hands. The new moon had begun…

'I dedicate this rose quartz to love. I am attracting a loving relationship into my life. All my needs, both physical and emotional, and mental, will be met… And so it is!' Parker invoked in thought.

She mentally gave thanks to the universe, in advance, for the love about to come her way. After she finished the ritual, Parker put out what was left of the small candle and packed everything up except for the white wishing bag. She pulled out the recharged stone and her bracelet before she tied off the bag and put it under the covers over the bandage on Eliot's chest. She put her bracelet back on and the stone back in his hand. Then she took care of cooling the candle before she put everything left into her bigger bag. The last act before she could open the door was hiding her bag in the air vent where no one could steal it. Then she opened the door back up so they wouldn't worry that the door was closed.

Anisette had finished her day shift and had eaten a meal before she went to do her night shift on another floor. She had managed to get transferred to ICU where Bethany and Lazarus Ford were because she actually missed the blond woman and her brother. She missed taking her cereal and juice… After her last shift in the PACU, she would now be stationed in ICU because she had experience working there as well.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N - An old favorite returns... A thief gets caught... And a hacker returns to face the firing squad...**

**I seriously wrote these next two updates overnight... UGH! I didn't get to sleep until almost 5 am! MUSES!**

**Anyway, I hope you all devour these chapters with glee. Savor them too, because the next updates won't be until Friday...**

**And I have to rest all weekend and not do any heavy lifting this weekend so I can do some blood work of my own, so I will be in bed tapita-tapita all weekend. So, we'll see what happens then...**

**TTFN!**

Anisette went to the staff pantry and collected a turkey sandwich on wheat, mustard and mayonnaise packets, a tub of apple sauce, and a mini can of Sprite; the things she knew Bethany liked in the evening. She put them on a small plastic tray and headed for Lazarus Ford's room. She lightly tapped on the opened door. Parker looked up from holding Eliot's hand to see Anisette.

"Hiya kiddo, I brought you your favorites."

"Oooh goodies! I thought you had to stay in the PACU…" The blond took the items from the nurse.

"I transferred to work up here. I've worked on this floor before and I kind of missed you two. How is he?"

"Holding his own; we're still waiting for a place in the RICU; could be any day now."

"How are his labs? The doctor can't believe it. His kidneys are holding their own and he's got low toxin levels in his blood; his circulatory system seems to be working well; so are his adrenal glands. He doesn't seem to have much fluid in his chest or lungs, but only time will tell once he sits up and can breathe on his own."

"Excellent progress then; good, good. And how are you holding up? I can smell the sage and lavender in here…"

"I'm taking one day at a time. I have to tell you a little secret. Can you keep a secret?"

Anisette nodded not really knowing where she was headed with this. Parker leaned in to her ear and whispered a little something about her rituals.

"I thought as much. I've seen too many things to know when something smells fishy. Just please be careful around the oxygen. It's very dangerous to burn anything in here. When you get to the RICU, you'll have to find another way to clear your sacred space. They won't allow anything to burn there. If you were caught, they might toss you out."

"I'll think of something."

"You're not even supposed to be doing anything here," she weakly smiled.

"I know, but it's been working."

Parker felt a little pang of guilt in her because they were conning the hospital and staff. She liked Anisette a lot because she brought her food; sugary food.

"When do you have to do it again?" Anisette asked as they moved closer to the doorway.

"I didn't burn anything for the full moon last month but I kind of have to for the new moon and that's not until the fifteenth of next month."

"I see. Well, maybe I can help you. I'll see if I can get transferred to the RICU around that time. I might be able to help you. My sister Cosette is a practicing Wiccan. I'll talk to her and see what we can do for cleansing your sacred space," she whispered back so other staff wouldn't hear.

Parker's eyes widened as she looked surprised.

"Oh could you? I would really be grateful."

"Sure. Might take me a few days to reach her, but I will get back to you before the full moon, nevertheless should be before the twenty-ninth."

"Great. Thanks," Parker said and gave her a quick hug.

The key went into the door at Hardison's small one room apartment. He carefully set down his messenger bag and then scooped up his new wife Mrs. Alfie Mosby-Hardison up into his arms. Her skin was a beautiful milk chocolate brown and her black hair was short, boy cut like Halle Berry's about the time she won her Oscar. He was tall and she was about the same height as Parker, if not a foot shorter. She giggled as he carried her across the threshold.

"Welcome home, baby. This is my little patch of heaven for the time bein'."

He waited patiently as he twirled her slowly around the room in his arms so she could look some. It definitely needed a woman's touch. Alec set her down gently on his favorite leather chair in front of his multi-screened, multi-towered computer, AKA Swordfish Style, AKA Hardison Style. He kissed her temple and then went out to get his, 'Preciousss,' out of the hall before someone took it; along with all the bags. Once the front door was secure, he checked his watch. It was already September 16th! Where had the time gone? Oh yeah, fending off hurricanes in Jamaica… He needed an orange soda and his woman to curl up with. That seemed so surreal to think, his woman, his wife! Hardison went to his overly soda stocked fridge and pulled one out.

"Want somethin' to drink, mama?"

"Water's fine."

"I haven't been to the store. All I've got is orange soda and tap water. And I wouldn't trust the tap."

"Sure, I'll take a soda."

Alec handed her a 20oz bottle of orange soda and took a seat on his leather sofa. Alfie stood and joined him. He was sooo tired. The honeymoon had almost been a disaster… His wife managed to make sure they had a room facing the inside courtyard. The storms hit the outer rooms first. So they grabbed their essentials and camped out, snuggling inside the bathtub on whatever bedding they could use. Hardison was sooo glad to be home.

"When do you want to tell your friends you got married?"

"Soon."

"Well, I have to go back to Seattle and take care of things there. Would that be enough time?"

"How long will you need?"

"I have to pack up my apartment, give up my lease, and wave bye-bye to all my friends before I move here to Portland with you. I can take my work anywhere since I'm an independent real estate agent."

Alec had to think about things… As he looked around his place he realized that there was no way he was going to fit all of her things in with his digs. He knew she would want a bigger closet and more bathroom space; things most women wanted when they moved in, space they could call their own in the middle of her man's stuff. Then a flicker of a thought crossed his mind…

"Mama, I think we need a bigger place," he began.

"No, I can stay here. We can make it work."

"Seriously, hear me out. You and I both like gaming and we're gonna need some seriously huge space for our computers; you need a bigger closet and bathroom counter space… And we'll need a guest room if my Nana comes to stay."

'That is if she's speakin' to me after I tell her I eloped,' Alec thought to himself.

"Can we get a place with a den, library, and room for a nursery?"

"Anything you want, baby." Then it struck him what she was getting at. "Are you… Mama?"

"No sweet-ums, I'm not, but I could be someday. We should get an extra guest room while we're planning."

Hardison considered just building the ultimate sexy Geek home for him and Alfie. He was already super rich, but she didn't need to know that yet. She had her own money but it wasn't as astronomical as his funds. They both had agreed on a pre-nuptial agreement but also agreed to have a joint account to draw upon for things like mini-vans, college funds, food, and retirement. He would need her to find them a piece of property big enough to build this home on. And, and it had to be on high ground. No flooding allowed. He could take earthquakes but no fires, hurricanes or tornados, typhoons or tsunamis, and no flooding… Definitely no flooding. At least with an earthquake, at the end of the day, you knew where your shit was. With the others, it could float away, get blown away, or burned away. Alec decided he would surprise her with the plans to the home later.

"It's after three now. I know we just got here, but I should go home. I have to be back to work tomorrow. And I need to close out my accounts and start packing. Could you give me a lift to the airport?"

"Sure, sure. Then I'm gonna take a little nap and square things up with my friends."

"Dream of me…"

"You bet, hot mama."

It wasn't a very long trip and since her bags were already packed, she caught a quick flight out. Alec went home and took a nap…

Hardison frowned when he woke up because his rest had been dreamless. He turned on his cell and sent Nate a text message…

[YouCan'tHackThis: Where R U Man? H.]

[MegaMind: Hospital w/GriftRUs. N.]

[YouCan'tHackThis: Just got home. Got news 2 share. Bring GriftRUs. She's gonna want in. H.]

[MegaMind: Meet Bridgeport in 30. N.]

[YouCan'tHackThis: U got it. H.]

Alec tapped on the steering wheel as he played the Top Gun soundtrack on the CD player in his car. Talk about riding into the danger zone… He knew Sophie was going to take it hard that he hadn't consulted her on planning a wedding for him. He tried to think of ways to smooth things over with her… Maybe he could let her plan a reception or something? Planning a new wedding after the one they had, just seemed like too much work. He might have to rethink that idea because his Nana would probably want him to get married in her church and make it proper in her eyes; before God and her gossiping friends. The traffic was rather light and he made it to the Bridgeport Brew Pub/Leverage HQ before Nate and Sophie. He used his key to Nate's place and began setting up the new cool tools he'd purchased at the conventions he'd been to.

Nate wasn't sure what Hardison's cryptic message was all about. However, he said that Sophie was going to want in on whatever it was. He hoped it wasn't a job. None of them could possibly pull a halfway decent job at the moment. He cut the engine and got out before he opened the passenger door for Sophie.

"Why, thank you, Mister Ford," she teased as she took his offered hand.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N - Hardison and Alfie face the firing squad... **

**My Sophie Muse laughed all the way through her parts...**

**I hope you like it. Last one until Friday!**

**TTFN!**

"So, uh, what's so urgent," Nate asked as he came in his front door to his loft.

"Have a seat…"

"Oh the suspense is deliciously evil. You must tell us Hardison," Sophie spoke as she sat down on the edge of the leather couch.

"I'm fine, on with it," Nate stood behind the kitchen counter with both hands braced for impact.

"Well, see it's like this. You know what went down with Parker and I. And then you sent me off to Madison and Chicago…"

"Yeah and?" Hardison was getting on his nerves.

"I found some new tools we can use and I suddenlygotmarriedandwentonm yhoneymoon."

"Hardison, honey, just spit it out in English, s'il vous plaît. (If you please.)

"I just got back today from my honeymoon."

Nate came from around the counter to Sophie who was totally awestruck; complete with gaping mouth.

"Congratulations," was all the mastermind could think to say. "I hope you both will be happy."

He couldn't help but feel sad inside for Parker. It was clear to him that Hardison jumped out of one fiery hot pan into another fiery hot pan. It had only been a little less than two months since the hacker and thief split. The geek was going to really put his friendship with the nimble blond to the test with this morsel of news. He hoped that the both of them could keep it together for the team. What he foretold to Sophie in that small hospital chapel was coming true…

Meanwhile, poor Sophie was aghast. She opened and closed her mouth a few times as she tried to accept what Hardison had said. Hardison… Married? Bloody hell! He got married before me… She had wanted to wed Nate and settle down before the others did. And hey, wait a second… Why weren't we invited? Anger started to ignite within her.

'Why didn't I get to bloody hell throw the wedding?' She thought.

Sophie carefully stood and gave Hardison a hug, "Congratulations."

Just before Hardison had a chance to think he was off the hook, Sophie hauled off and socked him in the shoulder with the hand she had a ring on; her aim was true…

"Owww, what the hell was that for?"

"For not inviting your friends and not letting me throw your wedding. I'm quite good at planning you know." Then she started to pout with that stiff upper British lip. "Nate could have officiated…"

"What's done is done Soph. Now, what are we going to do about Parker?"

"Oh, she'll be crushed Nate." The grifter spoke up for the thief, "I vote we don't tell her."

"No, she has to be told. Eventually, she'll see his wedding ring and be crushed all the more because we kept this from her."

Sophie didn't like the idea of telling Parker so soon. She was dealing with Eliot now in ICU and to throw this in, seemed like too much. Both she and Nate were sort of ignoring Hardison who'd gone to get an ice pack for the bruise he was going to have from Sophie's ring.

"If anyone wants to know, I'm voting with Sophie. We don't have to tell Parker right off the bat. My wife, which still seems strange to say, is in Seattle gettin' her things together. She's movin' to Portland. We is gonna build a home from scratch, though she don't know it yet."

"Sounds cozy," Sophie sneakily moved to find a phone book.

Hardison took a seat on the couch and tried to relax his aching right shoulder. Maybe he should allow her to plan something? His Nana would want him married in her church and it was small enough for Sophie to plan a simple event… Nate wouldn't have to officiate because his Nana would want her preacher to officiate. He'd have to call Alfie later and give her a heads up… Alec hoped that she wouldn't be upset with him too.

"Sophie, dahling… How would you like to plan our wedding," Hardison asked as he poured on the sugar…

"What?"

"My Nana's gonna have my hide because I didn't get hitched in her church with her preacher. So, I was thinkin' you could do a simple weddin' there."

"How simple?" He had her interest piqued.

"Maybe fifty people."

"Oh no, no. I need more. And what about your bride's family? When do we get to meet this ray of sunshine?"

"Once she gets everything in order, I guess."

"One thing you both are forgetting… Eliot is still out of commission. And on that same vein, so is Parker. I know both would want to be involved if they could. That is assuming they are both talking to you after Sophie and I tell them," Nate offered.

"Shouldn't I be the one to tell her?" Hardison asked.

"Not if you want your fingers broken or a fork in your heart," Nate came over to the couch and started to eye the newly acquired equipment. "What's this do?"

"Put 'em on, put this over your ear, and what do you see?"

"A little white box and a bar chart."

"Good, Nate, good. I thought we could use these during jobs if one of us gets stuck. Pull a map up on the screen and help comes as soon as possible."

"Nate is right, I'm afraid. Parker isn't ready yet. We don't have to rush to set a date yet," Sophie picked up the portable phone and ordered a couple pizzas for them to share.

"And, no, I don't do themed weddings. So, no World of Warcraft costumes," Nate said.

Meanwhile, in Seattle… Alfie was at her parents' home. It wasn't so much a residence, but more like a show house. It didn't look lived in. It was more a mansion than a home. Her father had been out playing tennis all afternoon and got a little sunburned and sore. Her mother had given the chef the night off so that she could cook. They were sitting at the dinner table when her mother noticed her ring first…

"Baby, what is that on your hand?"

"It's a ring mama."

"I know that, but what's it doin' on that finger?" The diamond wasn't too heavy to wear.

"I justgotbackfrommyhoneymoon."

"What was that Alfie?" Her father spoke up.

"I got married!" She exclaimed and held it up for her mother to see the exquisite ring.

"You what?" Her father boomed.

'Rut roh,' she thought. 'Here it comes.'

"How could you do that to your mother and I?"

"I did it because I love him. And I did it to save you money…" Then she turned to her mother. "He's a nice man mama. He's tall like daddy and he loves me."

"That's nice sweetie."

"Did you at least get married in a church?"

"No daddy, we didn't. We got married by a nice man in a Gandalf the White costume at a convention I went to. Don't worry, he was an ordained minister. And he was white with a long fluffy white beard."

Alfie knew she was pissing her father off. She had run away to the convention because she was tired of him trying to set her up with acolytes under him that he mentored. They put their careers first and love second. It had been such a surprise to find Alec there at the convention and he was single…

"Then we went to Jamaica for our honeymoon. It wasn't the best trip considering we got hit by three hurricanes. But we made the best of it."

"When will we get to meet this new husband of yours?" Her mother asked.

"I don't know. I'm here to pack up and I'm moving to Portland, Oregon. So, at least I will be on the same coast. We're going to be looking for a place because his is a tad small."

"I'm you're your job will come in handy then," her mother commented before she took a bite of her meatloaf.

"Yes, quite. Don't worry daddy, he's black. I wouldn't go that far overboard."

"Good. What does this Hercules do for a living?"

"He does I.T. work for his boss."

"I.T.?"

"He fixes bugs in computers when they go haywire. He's an information specialist and technology advisor."

"That sounds interesting dear," her mother said as she took a sip of her wine.

"Sounds like he at least has brains," her father was bordering on mean.

"Yes, he is daddy. He's the smartest man I know and he didn't go to the same college as you did."

"Well, I won't have this. You will have a wedding here at the mansion. We'll put a tent on the back lawn for the reception," her father announced. "I must get to walk my daughter down the aisle."


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N - Hardison shares a little and Sophie snoops a little...**

**I hope you all enjoy and sorry for the delay because I missed last Friday! But it was a good thing because I pumped out 4 updates for yawl! **

Hardison heard his cell ring as he and Nate were catching up on some of the sports they'd missed by being at the hospital or traveling, over the pizza Sophie ordered. It was kind of strange that Sophie actually stayed to watch the games as well. He saw the caller ID and stood to move somewhere more private. He hit talk when he was out in the hall.

"Hey mama, what's up?"

"We have issues, baby… Namely my parents."

"Yeah, we do… You have no idea… You go first."

"Fittingly, my dad had a fit like I told you in Jamaica. He's pissed he didn't get to walk me down the aisle. So… He wants us to get married again… Mama seemed alright with everything. I suppose she was that way because she ran away to elope with my dad."

"That's all right… But how do you feel about getting married one more time?"

"What? You can't be serious…"

"Deadly… Deadly serious, baby. I have to call my Nana, like I said in Jamaica. I know she's gonna want me to get remarried too. I have a colleague that will tear me from limb to limb if I don't let her plan a weddin' for me. So, I thought she could plan both. Get back in her good graces…"

"Is she any good?"

"Yes. However, be prepared for everybody and his brother to be there; she don't do small."

"Well, my daddy's payin'. I warned him I tried to save him money…"

"You gotta remember, he's probably been planning your weddin' since you were three and sippin' from a plastic tea cup filled with cold water," Alec gave her an insight.

"True, you're right. Mama wants to meet you… Do you want to come up here or should we come down?"

"Might be better if they came down, boo."

"Great. I'll have to co-ordinate their visit then. Should we set a date for these weddin' celebrations?"

Alec didn't know what to tell her. He wasn't ready to jump in and get remarried twice so soon. Eliot and Parker couldn't be involved, and they were like the brother, and now the sister he never had, since they'd broken up.

"Now it's my turn. Let me get it all out and then we can decide what to do."

"Okay, that don't sound good."

"Well see, the thing is that another colleague who's like the brother I never had been in an accident. He's in ICU right now. He almost didn't make it. I want him to be my best man, but he can't walk or talk right now. And my ex-girl Parker I told you about is like glued to his hip at the moment. Since we broke up, she's become more like the sister I never had. And I wanna wait until they can make the trips…"

"Oh Alec… I'm sorry to hear that, baby. I wish I could be there to snuggle with my snuggle bug. I'd be more than happy to wait. It's gonna take me a long time to get things handled here, at least three or four months."

"That might not be enough time, but I'll take it. We can revisit this in a couple months. Miracles can happen…"

"Would you like me to pray for him? Them?"

"Anything you want, mama. He can use all the help he can get."

"Tell you what… How about we come for Thanksgiving?"

"That's close… But doable; I don't have to cook do I?"

"No way, baby. I'll cater. My parents think I cook… I've got damn good caterers on speed dial."

Hardison was reminded of Eliot's impeccably incredible cooking skills. And the food laser that he wouldn't let him keep. Then he abruptly began to miss the man's finger sandwich trays he made when the boys' watched DVR'd sports. He always made one hell of a spread when they had time to stop and watch the games. And he brought the best beer too. Dammit…

"You got a prayer chain or somethin' at your church?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Put Eliot Spencer on it."

"All right, baby, as soon as I can."

"Thanks."

After Hardison bid his wife a good night, he went back in to finish watching the game as he thought over the new tidbits of information imparted to him. Being married 3 times couldn't be a bad thing, could it? Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Sophie was studying him.

"What?" He asked as he finally looked at her, before he picked up another slice of pepperoni pizza from the box.

"Nothing."

"It ain't that exciting to watch me eat Sophie, so what's it?"

"You look like your dog just got kicked. Is something wrong?"

"Not exactly." Nate muted the game so they could talk. "Alfie's parents want us to get remarried."

"And who's Alfie," Sophie questioned.

"Don't you know?"

"No. Should I?"

"She's my wife."

"Well, bloody hell…"

"In Soph's defense, you never said her name Hardison," Nate spoke up.

"Sorry. I need more orange soda," he said as he stood.

"So, her name's Alfie… She sounds adorable. What does she look like?"

"A little like… If Halle Berry and Parker had a love child…"

Sophie was the ultimate busy-body. She had to know what was going on when Hardison left the room. So she had listened to his side of the conversation…

"Hey mama, what's up?"

At first she thought it might be Parker on the other end.

"That's all right… But how do you feel about getting married one more time?"

Sophie perked up at this. It was definitely not Parker. Another wedding? She was practically giddy with excitement.

"Deadly… Deadly serious, baby. I have to call my Nana, like I said in Jamaica. I know she's gonna want me to get remarried too. I have a colleague that will tear me from limb to limb if I don't let her plan a weddin' for me. So, I thought she could plan both. Get back in her good graces…"

'Hey,' she thought. 'Eliot's the violent one… But he might only be slightly right. Yes, you just may get into my good graces for a very long time, especially if I can get Nate to propose after all this…'

"Yes. However, be prepared for everybody and his brother to be there; she don't do small."

'Bloody hell, watch it Geek. I could con you into so much trouble.'

"You gotta remember; he's probably been planning your weddin' since you were three and sippin' from a plastic tea cup filled with cold water."

'Awwww, her daddy wants to walk her down the aisle,' Sophie bet.

"Might be better if they came down, boo."

'Okay…' So her parents are coming for a visit. She hoped they wouldn't have to con her parents by pretending that Hardison was the boss and that he ran the team; or some idiotic scam like that.

"Well see, the thing is that another colleague who's like the brother I never had been in an accident. He's in ICU right now. He almost didn't make it. I want him to be my best man, but he can't walk or talk right now. And my ex-girl Parker I told you about is like glued to his hip at the moment. Since we broke up, she's become more like the sister I never had. And I wanna wait until they can make the trips…"

It was the first time she'd heard Hardison give such an emotional endearment to someone about their team members. The more she thought about it, they were brothers… They fought, bickered, made bets, and picked on each other like they had a familial connection. And Parker, well… She had seen that coming a mile away. She could see that Parker's heart wasn't in their relationship, but she stepped back and let it run its course. Nate knew it was going to be a train wreck…

"Miracles can happen…"

'Yes, yes, they can,' she thought as she stood by the door. They'd seen several so far…

"Put Eliot Spencer on it."

This really worried Sophie. Hardison was giving out Eliot's name to a stranger she hadn't met yet. How did Hardison know she was trustworthy? Sure, he married her, but what did he really know about her? And putting Eliot on a prayer list… Where his name could be passed on… Sophie hadn't gotten to read this woman in Alec's life yet. This could be really dangerous for Eliot and the team. Nate needed to know what was happening. He should have given her an alias instead. Maybe she was one of the good guys…? She didn't yet know the details of their relationship but she hoped to get something out of him soon to ease her reservations. She was going to have to find some way around them since she was going to be having to plan a wedding for the couple. And here she hadn't had one of her own yet!


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N - Hardison stands up to his Nana... Parker finds an answer to a, 'burning,' problem...**

**A/N - I am terrible with certain accents... So I'm not sure what a St. Louis accent is supposed to sound like.**

**With this chapter I decided not to put much more detail into Hardison's wedding in this story. Let me know what you think...**

**Would you like to see the wedding happen in this story or would you like to see it as a story of their own?**

**If you would like to see it in this story would you want full details of both weddings? Would you want the same for Nate and Sophie?**

**If you would like to see it as a story of their own then would you like to see a separate story of how Sophie gets Nate to marry her?**

**Let me know!**

After crashing on the couch at Nate's, the next morning, Hardison was up super early because he was going to have to call his Nana in Chicago. Time zones could be a bitch sometimes, especially since he had to be up at 4a.m. to call her at 6a.m. His Nana was an early riser. Alec left the loft before Nate and Sophie were up to go and buy some breakfast. Half an hour later he came back with a box of still slightly warm croissants with butter topping and three coffees. He knew an all-night place that was open off of Stark and 4th. He pulled himself out a couple pastries and put the box into the microwave to keep them warm, hopefully… Nate and Sophie usually didn't get up before 10 anyway. His Nana never answered the phone right off the bat; she screened her calls because of pesky bill collectors, automated computer calls wanting her to take surveys, and people she just didn't want to talk to. Hardison was probably in hot water already because he hadn't called her in a while, but that street ran both ways. And he'd just been in town not too long ago and didn't stop in and visit. Alec waited for the outgoing message to finish playing before he heard the beep.

"Yo Nana, it's Alec. You home?" He said and when no one picked up, "Guess I'll call back in a bit."

He figured she'd probably gone out to get her morning walk in before breakfast. He sat down at his computer and began to check on the news of the world. He knew that she would be about a half hour gone before she'd be back. Hardison's grandmother was large and in charge, but not like Tyler Perry in a dress; though just as opinionated Medea. She was only 5'6 and sturdy; born and bred in St. Louis. Sweetest thing ever but don't cross her… She could be a bulldog. Alec never could get away with too much. He waited the appropriate amount of time before he dialed her number again.

"Naana, you back yet? I gotsta talk to ya…"

"Ah'm here, just got back. Ah'm all sweaty and stuff. Good lookin' fall day. Gonna start snowin' soon."

"Hey, I gotta talk to you."

"All right, hang on… Ah need mah coffee," Miss Lucille Barnett said. "Just a moment."

She set down the receiver of the phone. Lucille didn't believe in those new-fangled portable phones or digital answering machines. No, she had the kind that still used the two cassette tapes; one for the out-going message and one for incoming messages. She reversed the tape every night before bed to rerecord over the old recordings. The phone had one of those dials on it where you used a finger to turn the wheel to dial a number; nope, no battery operated anything for her… Lucille needed her coffee before she had any conversation with Alec because it was going to be a long stressful one. She wondered what he'd done now… Good Lord, he sure put her through some tribulations while he was growing up under her care. She tried to settle him down, but there were times she didn't know if she'd survive raising him. She was all by herself, a widower, and all wasn't easy raising a foster child on her own. But she thought he seemed very smart and just needed some direction.

Lucille went into the small kitchen and pulled the small box from the upper cabinet. She filled the green hot water pot and put the flame on high. Then three tablespoons of her favorite international coffee flavor later she was almost to Heaven. 10 minutes after, she added the hot water and stirred it before she came back to her teal colored La-Z-Boy recliner. All the while, Hardison had been waiting on the other end of the line.

"Ah'm back. Now, what's up? You got yourself in some kinda trouble again?"

"Depends on how you look at it, Nana."

"Don't you Nana me, boy. Spill it."

"I took your advice and settled down."

"Settled down? You stopped messing around with those video games? Ah told you they were a waste of time."

"No, Nana, I didn't. I got married."

"What was that, boy? You got married?"

"Yes, Nana."

"An just where was my invite? You didn't knock her up did you, young man?"

"We didn't send any because we eloped. No, she's not pregnant."

"Oh boy, you know you ain't married. Not unless ah'm there. How could you do that to your granny?"

"Yes, I am Nana…"

"Oh no you ain't boy, an ah didn't even to get to meet her… She ain't white is she?"

"No, Nana. She's your dream girl. I know you're gonna love her."

"Can she cook, clean, and be a good mother? What are her parents like? They go to church?"

"I think so, but she caters on holidays. I haven't seen her clean yet and now's not the time for that question. I haven't met her parents yet. They might be here for Thanksgiving."

"And why not?"

"Because they live in Seattle, Washington; I live in Portland, Oregon."

"When are you gonna give me babies to play with? Ah ain't gonna be around much longer you know."

Hardison rolled his eyes…

"I'll have to ask to my wife and see."

"My boy, you ain't married yet. I'll go talk to Reverend Myron tomorrow."

"Nana, I know what you want but we ain't getting remarried yet. Two important friends I want to be there can't make it. So don't rush."

"Why ain't they gonna come to the weddin'?"

Hardison tried not to blow his top. He tried counting from ten to one and then sighed deeply.

"Because one of them freakin' hospital with a tube down his throat and the other one is my ex-girlfriend who is takin' care of him."

"Forgive an old woman, Alec. Ah didn't mean to hurt your feelins."

"S'okay Nana. He's in bad shape, in ICU. He died three times before they got him stable."

"Oh, Good Lord! Is he gonna be okay?"

"I hope so. I want them both at the weddin' because they're like family to me."

"Ah understand."

"So, we're gonna wait."

"Well, ah don't know what to say to that. Ah'll have to hold my britches then."

"I'll definitely let you know when we're ready to move forward."

"You do that, hon."

"I gotta get to the store before the morning rush," Hardison lied. "Love you, Nana."

"Love you too, baby. Be safe."

"Always."

Well, that had gone a little better than he thought it was going to go. At least she backed off a little bit. Oh he knew she'd still go see Reverend Myron tomorrow anyway. Now he was going to have to tell Sophie that she not only had one wedding to plan, but now she had two. He considered waiting a while though before he told her the change in plans. At least Alfie was already prepared to have two weddings to smooth things over between both families. Most women couldn't handle that kind of stress.

Days seemed to turn into weeks for Parker, but it had only been about a week and three days before Anisette had finally come to her with the answer from her sister, Cosette. It had mostly taken so long because Anisette had to work and Cosette was hard to reach. She preferred to spend her time with nature instead of humans. It was three days until the full moon and Parker had been pacing at night because she was worried the answer wouldn't come. So, when Anisette appeared in the doorway on the evening of the 26th with a bowl of something shiny and white with a broom, she tilted her head slightly like she wasn't sure what the woman was up to.

"I finally reached my sister and she sent these items to help you with the creation of the sacred space."

"Oh goodie! What's all this?"

"This is a bowl of coarse sea salt. Salt has been in purification rituals for thousands of years according to Cosette. I had her give you the larger rocks of salt because the smaller ones would be harder to clean up. She said to sprinkle it around the area to cleanse the space and make it sacred. Now you won't have to burn anything."

"What's the broom for?"

"She said that typically, the broom is associated with cleaning and purification. You use the broom to go around the edges of the space, sweeping away negativity. The last thing she said was to start and finish near a door so that the negative energy can be accurately swept outside."

"Perfect, I'll sweep the salt out and then I won't get in trouble."

"Yes, I'll have housekeeping come by and mop up the salt outside. I'll put some water on it first and let them now some saline dribbled. Maybe I'll just put a hole in a bag or something and replace it with new."

"Thanks for the help."

"Anything you need, you just hit that button."

"I could use a snack."

"How about the usual?"

"Sounds good, but can you throw in some of those small boxes of cereal?"

"Sure, what kind?"

"Anything would be great. Thanks bunches!" Parker whisperingly exclaimed, because Eliot was asleep.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N - Parker gets some good news and grows bold again... Nate joins the texting ladies... **

**You are just going to laugh so hard when you see Eliot's texting ID. Just a hint... Hardison set all the texting names for the team...**

**Enjoy and please review!**

On the morning of the night of the full moon, a little bit after Parker ate breakfast, she began to pace, thinking of ways to keep the new intentions she'd set for the month in front of her awareness. They really hadn't left since she kept a daily reminder in her bracelet and the stone she had placed in Eliot's hand. She removed her backpack from the air duct after everyone had been in to check his vitals and to change the saline bags to keep the new IV location in his left arm open. That hadn't been easy with the removal and the decision where next to put it, but Parker had kept him calm. Of course Anisette had been so gentle and used a numbing agent so it went smoothly in. She moved her chair to where her writing hand was free and the other was able to hold onto Eliot's hand, with the rose quartz stone between their palms. She wrote in her journal that she'd taken the steps and actually kissed his forehead. It was a major move for her, yet still subtle enough to not have over done it. She wrote down that she didn't know what she would do for this month, but she was going to put her whole heart into it; and that was saying lot for Parker who didn't share her heart with anyone.

Sometime after lunch for Parker, Anisette popped in to let her know that Dr. Ruehl was making her rounds. She told her not to be asleep this time because she thought she might have some good news about her brother. Parker growled a little once Anisette left, just like she'd heard Eliot do, and tried to calm herself or she might wake Eliot. He hadn't been awake much during the morning. He was in and out of consciousness. She figured it was okay because the more he slept, maybe the faster he'd heal. True to Anisette's word, Dr. Ruehl appeared at the doorway. The woman had her hair up in a bun and she looked to Parker like she was projecting the air of, 'Bitch-when-I-wanna-be.' She could read people differently than Sophie. She had a special sense about things like this. Parker would joke and say it was her, 'Spidey Sense,' but it was much more than that. She actually had a kind of ESP where she could sense if someone was good or bad. If they were good, she got along with them. If they were bad, they rubbed her the wrong way and she tended to steer clear of people like that if she could. Time usually told her if she was right or wrong on her readings.

It was interesting though, when she read the team for the first time, none of them knew she'd done it. That was why she got along with Sophie like she did, she was all good. Nate was half good half bad; the bad could be over looked. Hardison… Hardison was all good like Sophie; she just didn't bond with men so well because of her past history with them. All of the men in her life, including Archie used her and so she didn't know how a real man was supposed to act around her. And when it came to Eliot… She sensed that there was a lot of bad within him, but she saw a spark of good in there and over their jobs she felt it grow; with Eliot she felt safe; like he wouldn't be one of those men from her past that used her and threw her away like trash or called her when they needed something from her. People like Dubenich, Latimer, and Moreau she sensed were all bad with no redeeming qualities.

Instead of letting the doctor get close to Eliot, Parker quickly stood and met her near the door. The woman rubbed her the wrong way for some reason. She didn't rip herself away too fast from him, so he stayed asleep.

"Sorry, don't want to wake him," Parker told her. "What is it?"

"I have some good news. They finally have a spot available in the RICU. There are four actually, but I had put your brother on the waiting list, and so he's in the group of four moving to the RICU on October first. He's done so well with the oxygen in his nose and the intubation that we think he's ready to move."

"Who's we?" Parker narrowed her eyes.

"The respiratory staff there in the respiratory intensive care unit. They are miracle workers over there. If any team can get your brother breathing on his own, it's them."

"Oh. Can I stay with him there?"

"Of course, I will have them get you a good chair to sleep in."

"I can't take that chair?" She pointed to the one over on Eliot's left side.

"Oh no. The chair I'm talking about, folds down into a bed. I'm surprised you don't have one now, actually."

"They ran out, is what I was told."

"Hmmm, if you can wait one more day, then I'll make sure you've got something comfortable to sleep on."

"What next after he moves?"

"Well, then the team down there will evaluate him after his transition and see if he's ready for respiratory therapy. If he is, they will take out the tube and see if he can breathe on his own. If his breathing is too shallow or he has difficulty, then he will go into the hyperbaric chamber and get pure oxygen into his system."

"Oh."

"They will probably start him out with a soft treatment to see if he tolerates it well. Then if he needs more, they will increase it until he has the most benefit."

"Then what happens after that?"

"Well then if he can breathe on his own then we can start getting him into physical therapy. Because he's been lying down a long time his muscles may atrophy. He's going to need occupational as well as physical therapy. He might even need speech therapy since he's had the tube so long. They'll help him to retrain his vocal cords, if he needs it. That's up to them."

"He definitely needs those."

"Any other questions?"

"When will they move him?"

"Probably sometime in the morning and they will monitor him all day the first few days before the tube will come out; but only if he's ready."

"'Kay. I've got to text my Auntie Ophelia. So, I'm going to go back over there now." She was kind of being a bit dismissive because she wanted the doctor to go away.

"All right then, I will continue my rounds. Just let the nurses know if you have any more questions for me. I will be at the hospital all day and they can page me."

"Fine," Parker didn't even look back up at her as she found her cell phone.

She wanted to bounce of the walls with the good news but it wasn't time for it. Eliot was getting better! Doing the little rituals seemed to be helping, but she couldn't definitively prove it. Maybe it was all the rest he was getting. Nevertheless, he was getting to the point where maybe he could talk again. She put in Sophie and Nate's addresses into the texting window.

[SpiderMonkey: U won't believe what just happened! P.]

[GriftRUs: Tell Me, tell me sweetie. S.]

[MegaMind: The Bears won a Super Bowl? N.]

[SpiderMonkey: What's a Super Bowl? Can you put lots of cereal in it? I want one for lots of cereal. P.]

[MegaMind: Nevermind. N.]

[GriftRUs: On the edge of my seat, P-nut. S.]

[SpiderMonkey: Eliot is moving 2 RICU Oct. 1! P.]

[GriftRUs: That's wonderful! We'll B there in a bit 2 celebrate. S.]

[MegaMind: Great news. U want me 2 share with H.? N.]

[SpiderMonkey: Not 'til we move. I will share w/H. P.]

[SpiderMonkey: Bring more cereal. I need cereal. P.]

[GriftRUs: Will raid Ur stash here. C U soon. S.]

[SpiderMonkey: What is a Super Bowl? Now I really want 1. P.]

[MegaMind: It's a football game. Now, nevermind. N.]

Parker hadn't really wanted to share with Hardison even though she said they still could be friends. She worried that if she told him like she'd told Sophie and Nate that he might want to come and see them in the hospital. She didn't want to take the risk of Alec upsetting Eliot or now that he was able to be awake, Eliot getting so upset at Hardison that it negatively affected his healing heart. There had been some damage from the three deaths he'd had and she didn't know how bad that damage was, but he was on the mend. However, there was still a risk that he might still try to sneak in to see them in spite of her kicking him out once before. She closed her phone up and tucked it into the pocket of her jeans.

A short time later, Sophie appeared at the doorway. She was quiet as she entered. She wore simple, brown ballet flats so that she didn't click on the floor as she moved into the room. Her outfit consisted of a charcoal gray tunic and black leggings. Her earrings, necklace, and bracelets were white.

"Hi," she whispered because Eliot was asleep.

"Hi, Parker whispered back as she got a quick hug from Sophie. "Where's Nate?"

"He's parking the auto. Should be up any minute. How are you doing?"

"Did you bring my cereal?"

Sophie held up a bag for Parker to look into. She did and spotted the box of Golden Grahams. She snatched the box out of the bag and started digging in. Life always looked better after she felt that sugar rush hit her system.

"So num-num happy," she said between chewing the small squares of cereal.

She closed her mouth because she knew it irritated Eliot before when she'd crunch a mouth full of cereal with an open mouth. Sophie smiled at her.

"Has he woken up at all today?" Parker swallowed and closed up the cereal box until later.

"Yeah, he was awake for about an hour and a half after breakfast. But then he drifted off again. I told him to sleep if he wanted to."

"Tonight's a full moon, have you got any plans?" Sophie whispered.

"Yes, yes I do…" Parker smiled with her eyes narrowed like she had been scheming something.

Sophie liked to call it Parker's, 'Wicked Grinch Smile,' and that was fine with her.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N - Oh... This one was so much fun to write...**

**I might be doing another update Friday, but we'll see. I need to slow down and absorb the reviews before I go on. I have been posting these sooo fast that I don't want to miss something. So we'll see how Friday goes...**

**On the medical front, I won't lose my foot! Everything looks healthy and the tissue is pink!**

**Since I had one vote for separate stories, I will be doing the Hardison/Alfie, Nate/Sophie stories after we get done here.**

**Poor Eliot learns how devious Parker can be...**

**WARNING: Foul Language... **

**ENJOY and PLEASE Review! My Muses are lovin' you folks!**

Eliot had woken up a little before dinner and they shared with him the good news about moving to the respiratory intensive care unit soon. He had been in that dream where Parker was there in that pastel green sundress, one hand held out to him while the other held a bouquet of asphalt flowers; yellow dandelions. Her beautiful blond hair pulled back and yet it rested on her shoulders in wavy curls; two wavy tendrils framed her face. Her face seemed so pale but there was a light pink hue just to make her look alive. He took her hand in his; they walked together slow and measured. They had been all around the white grass flowing in the peppermint breeze. Eliot managed to change the dream to a lush forest where the air was fresh but damp. They walked there slowly together. He told her about the different kinds of trees that made up the canopy. He looked down a time or two and saw her small hand inside his. The feel of her hand in his didn't feel strange. It felt comfortable, right; like his hand was supposed to be there… But that was what felt off…

He never thought it would feel like it was supposed to be there. Eliot knew that she had touched him more now than he could remember in the past since he'd woken up in the PACU. Parker never really touched him that much before other than on a job or when she wanted to poke a bruise… So this much fondling was out of the ordinary for her and him. He wondered why she put more effort into doing more to touch… Somehow a part of him understood that she was trying to keep him as calm as possible so that he didn't injure himself. It was kind of one of those unspoken needs that she took on; like finishing each other's sentences. If he had been attracted to her to begin with before she found out she was crazy, maybe things would be different. And the bet that Hardison reminded him of… What would Parker think of him if she knew the truth? By now, she probably knew of the bet, but Hardison wouldn't be stupid enough to tell her the details. Or was he? He wasn't after Parker for himself; he just knew that it wouldn't work out between Parker and the hacker. He knew Alec was going to fall flat on his face because he didn't have the mad, crazy women catching skills that he had.

And now… Eliot tried more often, in his own way, since they'd had that moment in the ice cave that he was looking out for her. She was special, even with a few bricks short of a full load, she was still unique… And he'd hate to lose her on his watch. He'd never forget or forgive himself if he lost her on his watch and the team would never let him forget it either. He needed to get well enough to set things straight with the team and get home to heal on his own; maybe away from Portland as well… He knew he'd have to watch out for Parker trying to stow away in his truck or car. It was already driving him crazy that he couldn't talk, much less move. He ached everywhere and the pain meds helped but he was tired of being so drowsy day after day. Eliot tried to reason with himself that resting was the best thing to heal faster. However, another part of him believed that being at home suffering through the pains of his healing limbs was where he wanted to be because he hated so much attention over his injuries.

A lone wolf healed his own wounds…

The thing that drove him crazy now with Parker caressing him was that she had practically brought him close to full arousal before she'd suddenly stop; as if she knew that she was driving him crazy. Thank God he hadn't had a full hard on with a tented gown and everything yet, but several times he had come damn close, too damn close. He was actually thankful for his class in torture techniques while he was in basic training then. Some days he wanted to think about what he could do to give Parker some payback, but then he couldn't because Eliot was concerned that it might arouse him too much. He wasn't ready for that kind of embarrassment in front of Parker yet, no, maybe not ever. Sophie had been talking to him about something and he felt like he was getting sleepy again. And then Parker's soft voice told him to rest if he wanted to and he went back to that dream of walking in the forest with Dream Parker. At least in his dream he wasn't walking around in an open-backed hospital gown. No, he had his jeans on with a dark blue shirt on with Wahya (Wah-hyah) written across the back; a couple wrist bands covered his wrists and a nice navy blue bandana was across his forehead. Eliot looked down and saw Parker's hand in his; he smiled and left reality behind…

Nate and Sophie stayed with the two teammates until just after dinner. While they ate, Anisette came in wheeling a very soft looking, comfortable recliner for Parker. She spoke and said that the chair was compliments of Dr. Ruehl. It was put over in the corner by the window for later. Sophie had Eliot distracted by talking to him when the thief gave him a little help getting back to sleep by having pushed the button connected to releasing the pain medication. Thank goodness there was a safety alarm to keep her from continually pushing the button. Then Parker's gentle influence helped him drift back to sleep. Nate had gone to the Subway sandwich place across the street from the hospital for dinner and brought it back. Parker practically wolfed down her foot long toasted hot pastrami sandwich without the cheese; just a mess of lots of red meat, pickle, and mustard on Italian bread, just to get back to being with the hitter. Sophie chose a little healthier with a turkey breast sandwich and Nate picked himself up a cold cuts sandwich. It was a good thing Nate had gotten smaller amounts of food or Parker might have started the, 'Are-you-gonna-eat-that?-looks.' Sophie envied Parker's insanely fast metabolism; she hardly ever gained a pound when she ate. Look at all the bloody hell cereal she ate…

After they left, Parker started to let the feeling of the energy from the full moon wash over her. She had tried to keep it at bay while the grifter and the mastermind were there. Tingling began to go all over her body the more she tried to hold the energy within her. She checked the clock and it was already 7:30p.m.! The full moon was about to happen. Parker went into the bathroom to prepare her body by quickly washing herself with warm water with a little sea salt. She dried off and changed this time into some pajamas that Sophie found for her when she'd gone shopping a few months ago. She had been planning to save them for Parker for Christmas, but she changed her mind. She'd had them stashed at Nate's place where the thief wouldn't think to look for presents, on the highest shelf inside Nate's linen closet, under some sheets. They had little bunny rabbits on them and they looked just like the thief's stuffed bunny rabbit. She stopped, calmed down, and grounded herself with the breathing exercise and visualizing the energy of the earth coming through the floor into her feet before she began to sprinkle a tiny circle around Eliot's bed. By the time she finished she had a kind of coarse sea salt lasso around the bed and aimed to the door. She began to feel that tingly feeling get stronger.

The energy was building… Parker started at the door and swept up the coarse sea salt, brought it all to the door she started at, and thus completed the cleansing part of her ritual. She didn't light up the tiny red candle because she didn't have any more and didn't want to get in trouble but she was still going on with the process. It was too late to stop now… Anisette and her sister Cosette had done so much for her that it would be a total waste of time and energy to quit now. Parker took one last minute and pulled the small hairbands out of her blond hair that Sophie had braided up for her a few days ago while it had been wet to get it up off her neck. She ran her fingers through, dismantled the braid, and then her blond locks began to spill in waves all around her shoulders. With one more brush all through of her fingers, she was all set. Guaranteed beautiful…

Right at 8:20 that night, the full moon started… She took a deep inhale and then a slow exhale before she unscrewed the cap on the small lotion bottle that was in the freebie bucket and supplies Eliot got each time he moved to a different unit. Parker had collected them all in a white patient belongings bag. The lotion was fragrance free, so she added a couple drops of her lavender aromatherapy oil to the bottle she had in her hand when she'd first gotten it. With some help from Sophie, she'd added a few different kinds of mint aromatherapy oils, including peppermint and regular good old mint to that bottle. She'd made sure to mark them with her pen first to keep them separate. Parker had some of the lavender bottle's contents warming in her hand this time. She lifted the covers back over his left foot and placed a soft kiss there on the top of his foot. Then she rubbed her hands together before she placed the warmed lotion on Eliot's flesh. She spread it all over his foot and began to massage it into his skin; one of the only places left that he wasn't hurt.

It surprised her when she looked up and saw Eliot's eyes open; it didn't scare her from stopping though; not even when he began to moan and groan. Parker felt the knots in the bottom of his foot disappear as she continued to knead the flesh. He tried to move his foot from her hands but was quickly stopped by the casts on both of his legs. She smiled when he gave in and stopped being fussy. When she was satisfied that she had finished with that one, she covered his foot back up and tucked it in. Then Parker uncovered the other foot and placed a kiss upon the skin on the top of it. Next, she spread the warm lavender scented lotion from her hand upon the other foot. She began to massage the warmed lotion into his flesh; such ministrations earned her more moans and groans from his mouth around the breathing hose. Parker saw him roll those blue eyes a few more times when she massaged a good spot before his eye lids started to get heavy. She kept on going until she worked all the tension out of the bottom of his foot. Before he eventually relaxed enough to fall back to sleep, she covered the other foot back up and then took up her seat by Eliot's side.

Parker didn't want to think of any kind of consequences for what she had done to the hitter or what his reaction would be the day he could talk. The universe only knew how Eliot would react. She hoped that if she tried to touch him in the future that he wouldn't yell at her to go away. Her heart had been in the right place after all; she'd wanted to make him feel better and she hoped she'd done that to the best of her ability. If he did try to stop her from touching him in the future, maybe she could stick her bottom lip out and pout or guilt trip him into caving to get her way. That usually worked nine times out of ten… Well at least it worked when they weren't on a job or something serious or seriously dangerous. Then she behaved, well almost… Parker put the lavender scented lotion into the patient belongings bag before she tied it back up with a slip knot. Somehow she knew that the energy that she felt building up inside had been released through her massage into Eliot; because she felt so spent afterward. It didn't matter that she'd had an exciting day; Eliot was going to be moving!

Eliot had been in his dream world with Dream Parker, soaking up the red sunshine as they lay in the white grass around him after having spent a long time exploring the intricate and delicate nature of the forest. He had gotten tired and she'd suggested they rest in the grass. She'd sat down on a bed of crushed white grass and he lay down asymmetrical from her on that same white grass. His head and shoulders lay across her lap. Her fingers stroked through his hair like a fork as he relaxed in the red sunshine. Eliot felt something soft and warm upon the top of his left foot. It was a bizarre sensation because his feet were covered in thick socks and boots. Then he began to feel something warm and slick take a hold of his foot. Good thing he wasn't ticklish on his feet or he could have been in real trouble. He felt the warm and slippery items move all over his flesh; they began to knead the bottom of his foot and the pains he felt there began to disappear. And then he thought about it for a second. Dream Parker had one hand resting over his heart and the other was gently stroking his hair. Who was rubbing his feet?

That's when reality crept back into his subconscious… Abruptly, Eliot was pulled from his dream world with Dream Parker to the real thing.

'Ohhh, dammit Parker!' He thought as he laid there and watched her as she massaged his foot.

It felt better than it should have… Where were his plans to object and shy away from her? What the hell was she wearing? Where was his control? She took down barriers each time she found a knot to knead on the bottom of his foot.

'Ohhh, ohm, yeah right there… Shit! Dammit, I'm so fucked!' Eliot was in trouble…

He tried to get her attention with his groans and moans but it did no good because she wouldn't look up at him after that first time she saw that he was awake. So then he tried to move his foot out of her hand… That epically failed because of the heavy white plaster-coated casts on his legs. Ohhh! He was totally screwed…! Eliot tried to think of something, anything to keep from focusing on what Parker was doing to his body. It started to feel too damn good… He tried thinking of naked old people, of waiting in the DMV to get his truck and car licensed, of his past, of black ops missions that would never know the light of day, and nothing seemed to fully take his mind off of what she was doing. He'd tried thinking of boring chick flicks he'd had to watch with various women he'd dated or had one night stands with; some of which he actually liked but would never admit to. Eliot even tried to imagine the look on Nate's face when Sophie got down on one knee and finally proposed to him instead of the traditional reversed proposal. Then he finally gave in to Parker and let her have her way. He prayed he didn't have an embarrassing situation to talk himself out of when he woke up. Once he closed his eyes, he drifted back to sleep and soon Eliot was back with Dream Parker in the white grass and peppermint wind…

Parker put her backpack up in the air vent to keep it safe until the next new moon. She climbed back down and rested a moment. She changed the date on the dry erase board for Eliot to see when he woke up. Then she sat down on the sheet covered chair Anisette brought her and crossed her legs at the ankles. She decided she didn't like them that way so she brought them up onto the recliner next to her. It was the kind of chair they used in chemotherapy units to administer medication in. It sure was better than sleeping sitting up in the chair next to the bed or staying in meditation pose all night. She covered up with a thermal blanket that Anisette brought her earlier with the chair and top sheet. Soon, Parker was dreaming herself; of bunny rabbits sitting in fields of Shasta daisies…


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N - So sorry this took so long, but look... Good things come to those who wait...**

**Eliot kicks himself... Parker shuts down... Mama Bear not happy...**

**Enjoy and please review! They keep us moving!**

**TTFN!**

**Ps. I have discovered the line breaks!**

* * *

October 1st was an interesting Monday. It started out with a strong gray-black storm sending showers of water intermittently, which was like watching someone turning on a faucet in the shower and then turning it off five to ten minutes later. It was the kind of Monday that Parker wanted to go home to curl up with some tea and her notebook of museum schematic maps; but that didn't involve Eliot. No, she was going to stay with him every step of the way; and that Monday was no exception. Once again, Anisette came early in the morning to let Bethany know that her, 'brother,' was about to be moved. There was a significant enough gap in time before the team was coming in to wheel Eliot to the respiratory intensive care unit. Parker had a few moments alone with the hitter and she used them to gather her belongings in the air vents. It didn't take her long after that to change into her jeans and a t-shirt from her pajamas from Sophie. After she put her backpack on she put the railing down and leaned in close. She placed a kiss like the one before, on his forehead, and then stroked his hair. He kind of growled around the hose and opened his eyes.

"Good morning, it's moving day. We're moving to a new place. They're coming in a few minutes. Just stay calm as you can. I'm here," Parker said with a smile and wondered if what she said was more for her than for him.

She caressed his forearm after she put the railing back up. He suddenly grabbed her and stopped her wrist to stop her movements just as the team came in to get Eliot moved to the RICU. He didn't hurt her but Parker read that something was up with him; because of the way he grabbed her wrist, and the amount of force to push her away. The amount of pressure spoke to her as well, as if he was mad at her. Parker wanted to say something but she had to move out of the way so that they could disconnect his oxygen and hook him up to a portable tank of air to tide him over until he arrived at his new unit. They disconnected various other things and hooked him up to the temporary transportation equivalents. She stood out of the way while the two men did their jobs. Then when they finished, Parker moved in closer where Eliot could see her, but she didn't move to hold his hand or the railing. She wasn't sure how to take him stopping her just a few minutes ago. Was he angry with her? Was he trying to stop her because he saw people entering the room? She wasn't sure, but she hoped he wasn't upset with her. The men moved the bed and she followed with her hands tucked into her pockets.

A decision was kind of made for Parker… It was clear that it was time to back off. Eliot was getting better and would be talking soon. He could yell at her and tell her to go away. She decided to stay with him but only until he was able to walk and then she could re-evaluate whether he could consider her gone or not. She would only touch him if he wanted her to and he probably didn't want her to now that he was almost well enough to speak on his own. Parker thought about all the work she had done with her rituals and decided that it was time to put all that stuff away as well, but she'd keep her journal handy. She wasn't totally cutting off the love she was asking the universe for; she was just channeling it into a different path. She still loved Eliot, but she had to put some walls up to protect her from possible incoming pain.

* * *

Eliot could kick himself for the moment he decided to stop her from caressing his forearm. He saw how her demeanor changed; she didn't have the pained look in her eyes he thought might be there, but he did see her retreat. He needed her to stop before he ended up with an embarrassing condition. Hell, it could have blown their cover if Parker had given him a hard-on when he was supposed to be her brother! He closed his eyes and put her out of his mind as they wheeled him in the bed to the elevator. And then they went down a long hall and into his room. He was the first room just past the double doors. Eliot was glad they arrived and were able to reattach everything that was important. They lifted him up a little more to allow the fluid to continue draining to the still attached drains around his abdomen. He opened his eyes and was glad that the room wasn't facing the sun. He watched as Parker got comfortable in the new surroundings. It upset him that she didn't move her chair closer to him where he could reach her. Fuck it, he didn't need a babysitter. He didn't ask for her to be there to begin with… So, why couldn't he make her go? Well, for one, a fricken tube was down his throat helping him breathe. He let things side as he became woozy and faded back to sleep.

* * *

Parker had hit the pain medication button after she'd settled in her chair because Eliot's face looked like he was in some discomfort. She didn't sit as close to him as she had before because she assumed he needed his space. She wasn't about to go and touch him again just to have him push her away. After she wrote down the morning's turn of events in her journal, she found a place in the room to hide it in. Just in time before Anisette appeared.

"Hiya kiddo, I thought you might want this," she said as she held out the rose quartz stone that she'd given Eliot to hold.

She gasped, "Yeah. Where…"

"It must have fallen when the boys were prepping to move him."

"Thanks," Parker put it in her jeans pocket. "Are you staying here too?"

"I can't this time but I can check in on you when I go on break."

Parker got upset at that news… Who was going to keep her stocked with food at all hours? Anisette was the best nurse ever! Nate and Sophie wouldn't and couldn't get up at any hour and come to bring her food in the middle of the night. Sometimes, visiting hours sucked…

"I have a sister here in this unit. Her name is Josette but she goes by Josie. I will put in a few words and she'll help me out. So, don't worry. Now, I found out that tomorrow morning Lazar will be evaluated for HBOT."

"He'll be evaluated for Hobbits? I didn't know you could catch that…"

"No, HBOT, it means hyperbaric oxygen therapy."

"That's where they put him in a tube, right?"

"Yes, he'll be getting treatments of pure oxygen. If they approve him, he'll get the lowest treatment possible."

"Shouldn't he get the highest? Wouldn't he get better faster then?"

"No, no they can't and no he wouldn't."

"Why?"

"Because it could cause barotrauma."

* * *

"What's that?"

"It's what happens when injury happens to certain organs, like the ear, when there's been a change in the atmospheric pressure between air space inside or beside the body and surrounding fluids. They'll make sure that doesn't happen."

"So, it's dangerous?"

"A bit. They must slowly bring him out of the pure oxygen slowly or he could develop barotrauma like divers get."

"Oh."

"They'll have some information to read and for you to sign since your brother can't. And he'll go for treatments and you can stay in the room if you want to. You don't have to go."

"No, I'll go wherever he goes."

"I do know they won't allow you inside the pod once his treatment starts, but you can watch him from a window."

"Good. My Uncle Patrick will probably sign the paperwork. I'll make sure he's here. What time will they come?"

"Probably sometime around ten. It takes time to check the equipment in the morning so it won't be right off the bat. And there are other patients that are worse than your brother, so they'll probably pull them in for treatments first."

"'Kay. Thanks."

"Oh, you should also know, Josette is my identical twin. We were born identical triplets. She has a heart-shaped birthmark so that's how we tell her apart from Cosette and I. Cosette has one shaped like a star and mine was an oval."

"Great. So will you get me something for breakfast before you go back? Pretty please?"

"Sure. I'll go talk to Josie and have her fix you up."

"'Kay, I'll wait here."

* * *

Within the next 15 minutes, Parker was in sugar heaven. Anisette was true to her word and her sister, Josette came in with three boxes of frosted flakes and some juice for the thief. She liked Josie because she was nice like Anisette. After soaring into sugar bliss, Parker texted her Aunt Ophelia.

[SpiderMonkey: Eliot moved. In RICU now. Rm. 416. P.] At first there was no response, but Parker waited a few minutes.

[GriftRUs: Great. How'd he do? S.]

[SpiderMonkey: Fine. P.] Parker should have known she couldn't fool Sophie with that response…

[GriftRUs: What happened, sweetie? S.]

[SpiderMonkey: He pushed me away and he don't wanna hold my hand. Seems mad me. Really don't know what I did 2 make him mad. P.]

[GriftRUs: Don't worry. Aunt Ophelia will set him straight when I get there. S.]

[SpiderMonkey: Don't kill him. I just got him healed enough 2 get here. P.]

[GriftRUs: I won't. But he shouldn't mess w/ Mama Bear's Cub… S.]

[SpiderMonkey: Oooh, I like teddy bears. I have a bunny. He's soft. P.]

[GriftRUs: Yes, yes U do. Do U need us there? S.]

[SpiderMonkey: U guys should come soon. Might need 2 sign stuff. P.]

[GriftRUs: Alrighty. I'll get up Mr. Grumpy Pants. S.]

[SpiderMonkey: Bring Nate too. Eliot evaluation this morning 10. P.]

[GriftRUs: Oh. Well, we'll eat breakfast and B there soon. S.]

[SpiderMonkey: Don't forget 2 stop my place 4 a change of wardrobe. Thanks. P.] Parker was glad that Sophie kept her supplied with fresh clothing. She didn't like to wear the same things more than a day.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N - Well hello all you followers, favorites, lurkers, and reviewers, oh my...**

**Here is the chapter you've put your hearts on the line for...**

**I will be posting the next update on Monday... Please, enjoy your weekend!**

**Ps. Don't forget to review!**

* * *

After Sophie finished with Parker, she decided to catch up Hardison with the latest, which only took a few minutes. Then she went back to bed, woke up Mr. Grumpy, and turned him into Mr. Happy. Soon after breakfast, she dressed in something classier than silk pajamas and Nate drove her to Parker's place in his red electric race car. This time she grabbed some tights and a light gray tunic. After grabbing some new underthings, Sophie completed the outfit with a belt and some classic high top booties. Patrick and Ophelia arrived just in time, as Shelby Cross, the respiratory therapist walked in right behind them at exactly 10:00a.m. He took up the empty spot on Eliot's right side.

"Good morning everyone. I'll just be a few minutes. Is this Mister Lazarus Ford?"

"Yes, and you are?" Nate stepped up.

"I'm Shelby Cross. I'm here to evaluate Mister Ford for respiratory therapy."

"But the nurse said you're not supposed to be here until tomorrow," Parker spoke up as she was sort of going on what Anisette told her.

"Sorry, there was a last minute change in schedule and the person that was supposed to be here had an emergency."

Nate stepped up, "I'm Uncle Patrick and this is his Aunt Ophelia. And that's Bethany, his sister."

"He's gonna be checking Lazar for Hobbits," Parker said.

"Not exactly. I am here to see how much he can breathe on his own, his oxygen levels, and whether he's ready for HBOT, or hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

"See, I said he was checking him for Hobbits…"

* * *

Parker had to laugh to herself. The man that had come in to check Eliot looked like a leprechaun, if that's what they looked like when you found one. He was short and stocky with a white goatee and he was bald. He wore one of those old-fashioned golfing caps. His face was scrunched a little so he looked older and grouchy but he seemed nice. She thought the only things missing were the little green jacket and top hat, and the little wooden pipe. The man set his big bag of goodies down and started looking at Eliot's chart.

"We're actually going to pull out his breathing tube in just a bit."

"It won't hurt will it?"

She was concerned that Eliot was going to be feeling bad, because this time she wasn't going to be there to soothe him like she had before. No, not unless he gave her a sign he wanted her there.

"It might. It's been in there a while. He won't be able to talk for a while because we're going to focus on retraining his lungs so he can breathe on his own."

"I'm going for coffee, who's up?" Nate asked.

"I'm fine Patrick," Sophie spoke.

"A hot chocolate please," Parker smiled at Nate.

Both she and Sophie knew why Nate couldn't stay for the procedure. It was too painful after seeing his son after he passed with a tube down his throat. It was okay, Parker forgave him and she was sure Eliot would too. She watched as Sophie woke him up.

"Lazar, this nice man is here to help take the plastic from your throat and to help you breathe. Don't try to talk. I'm sure he'll tell you what to do," Sophie softly spoke.

"Mister Ford, I'm Shelby Cross, the respiratory therapist sent to help you get your lungs back. If you can hear me, just nod your head."

* * *

Eliot did as he was asked and nodded that he had heard the man. He noticed that Parker was kind of staying out of the way by the window. Sophie had actually taken up the spot that had been hers. By now, he figured that she'd probably told the grifter about him pushing her away. He knew she wasn't going to be happy with him for upsetting Parker. He tried to put that out of his mind as he focused on trying to get his lungs back.

"Now, here's the plan. I am going to turn off the machine and I want you to start taking deep breaths through your nose. While you do that I'm going to use this pulse oxygen reader to see how much oxygen you're getting through to your blood. Then, if the number is good, I'm going to have you take a deep breath, deep as you can, and I'm going to pull the tube out of your throat. You will feel some soreness and you may even cough. So we'll put this extra pillow on your chest and try to take the pain away. But please, do not try to talk yet."

He knew this was going to hurt like a son of a bitch, but if it meant that he could breathe on his own again, he would swallow the pain and go all in.

"More than likely, you've got some residual fluid in your lungs from cracking your chest open and having to repair your lungs. You will eventually have to cough that up. If your breathing isn't above eighty-five percent, I'll give you some medicine to help your bronchial tubes dilate to allow more oxygen in until we get you into the hyperbaric chamber."

"How soon until he goes into the chamber," Sophie asked.

"He has an appointment tomorrow at noon. Now, are you ready?"

Eliot gave the man the best thumbs up he could muster before he used the same free hand to grip onto the bed's railing. The hitter started trying to take deep breaths through his nose as the therapist turned off the machine. He was on his own.

"That's it. Slow deep breaths through your nose."

Shelby squeezed this little black box and a little blue light came on. Five seconds later, Eliot came in with an 80%, which wasn't good, but it was more than 50 percent. Instead of getting the tube out, a nebulizer was attached to his breathing tube and suddenly he was getting those bronchodilators to help open his lungs. 20 minutes later, Eliot's oxygen was checked again and he had come up to 92%. It was getting better. He put another different kind of medicine in the nebulizer and another 20 minutes later, Eliot's oxygen had climbed up to 98%.

* * *

"Now, Mister Ford, I want you to take a deep breath. Deep as you can and let it go as I detach you from the machine. Then slowly let the breath go," the man named Shelby said as he began to disconnect the hoses attached to the machine.

Eliot did as requested and actually tried to do it a couple more times on his own around the hose. Oh he'd be so damn glad to be rid of that hose. He looked at Parker who tried to look like each breath wasn't painful for him to take. She wasn't looking at him though; no, her attention was affixed to something outside.

"Take another deep breath and this tube is coming out in… 3… 2… 1…"

Then suddenly the tube was pulled from his throat and he coughed and coughed. Dammit it was painful! But he could do this! The tube was gone! He couldn't catch his breath as he continued to cough like he couldn't stop to inhale, like he had emphysema. Shelby put the pillow on his chest over the wound and told the patient's, 'Aunt,' to hold it there until the coughing slowed to protect his healing stitches. Then he immediately grabbed the oxygen mask in a bag over Eliot's head and popped it open. He slipped the elastic strip over his head and then turned on the oxygen on high enough to force it into the hitter's nose. Eliot tried to inhale as best he could between coughs, gasping for air and it was coming… He felt relief the more he tried to slow the coughing and getting things under control.

* * *

Parker wondered if she should have left the room… She couldn't watch Eliot in the bed, gasping and coughing, but it meant he was alive. The whole scene felt like such a nightmare! She should have left with Nate… But no, she had stuck it out with Eliot this far. Now the tube was out and Parker inhaled like she had been holding a breath of her own. Things could only get better from here, right? She looked down at her hand and it tingled in little pin pricks; it felt like her hand was a pin cushion. Could it be that her body was longing to hold Eliot's hand? Suddenly, Parker felt something. She felt a wave of emotion wash over her and she wasn't expecting it. So, she turned and walked out to deal with her reactions to the situation. She went right past Nate and kept walking as if he had been invisible; right out of the respiratory unit.

* * *

Nate spent some time in the hospital's chapel. He needed to get some things off his chest. Then went to get that coffee for himself and the hot chocolate for Parker; he actually just got a tea for Sophie even though she said she was fine. He knew she would want one because he knew her… He was carrying a pressed cardboard drink holder with the three drinks when he caught sight of Parker rushing anywhere but there at the moment. Nate saw the look on her face and moved out of the way so that the drinks wouldn't end up on his clothing. Something had happened… It wasn't like her to get so upset and run like that. She would have stayed with Sophie and maybe tried to talk it out. Was Eliot alright? Had he gotten the hose out and then yelled at her? His feet moved a little faster as he went back to the room. By the time Nate got back to the room things had settled down. Eliot was breathing with the help of the oxygen mask… Getting things off his chest with the man upstairs seemed to be working in everyone's favor.

* * *

Eliot hurt from head to toe as more fresh oxygen invaded his tissues. His chest hurt from that surgery, his lungs hurt because they hadn't been used in a while and because of the repair there as well. He really felt like a lead brick. His joints and limbs hurt, but he was awake, alive, and he could breathe on his own, sort of. He still needed the help of an oxygen mask. Eliot had been distracted enough with trying to control his breathing that he missed the moment that Parker had disappeared. The last he saw of her was the left profile of her face as she stood at the window. It automatically had him worried… He tried to keep calm on his own because he needed to control his breathing to get his blood pressure back down to a stable level. He felt tingling in the hand that once held the IV line, which had been moved to another location, as he thought about Parker. Did he actually miss the feel of her hand in his? He wasn't sure but he shoved the feelings in a box and decided to examine them later. Sophie had backed off of his chest and things were sort of looking up.

"Now, remember… Do not try to talk just yet. We'll send the speech therapy person up when the time is right. For now, your throat and vocal chords have to relax, and readjust to not having a tube running through them."

"How long will it take," Sophie asked.

"A couple weeks at least; they might do better after his hyperbaric treatments; so we'll have to see. So, I have a present for you Mister Ford. If you need to talk, I want you to write it on this board."

Shelby opened the plastic surrounding a small 8x11 dry erase board. It was a set so it came with a pen and an eraser. There was so much that Eliot wanted to say, he could write a novel on that board during the night. The board and supplies were set next to Eliot's left hip. Fortunately, because of Eliot's military training, he could write with both hands, so it didn't matter if his writing hand was out of commission.

"Now, for today, stay on the oxygen and continue to try and breathe on your own… Slowly inhale and slowly exhale the oxygen. A nurse will come in from time to time to have you use this breathing machine. When you inhale through this tube, the yellow bar will go up. The more you use this it will help the lungs' capacity to hold air. I want you to use this three times a day preferably after a small meal, if you're allowed to eat solids. I would like you to try and reach the five hundred mark to start. Then the one thousand mark when you improve and I will be back to get you for your hyperbaric treatment tomorrow."


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N - There's another couple special heart scenes for you to enjoy...**

**PLEASE HAVE TISSUES!**

**Don't want those computers or phones to short out now would I?**

**I have hit a little writer's block as far as the direction to move next, but never fear, I will get there. I just might not get to post it until Friday... And don't I get you something good for Friday? Well, at least I try...**

**I hope you like it!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Just before the respiratory evaluator left, he gave Mr. Lazar Ford a little bit of pain medication to relax him after the trauma of taking out the tube. Nate walked him out and talked to him in the hall…

"He might need more bronchodilators and medicines to keep his airways open because he will have some fluid in his lungs. So there is a risk of your nephew developing pneumonia."

"When will he go for the hyperbaric treatments?"

"Tomorrow at noon, I will come to get him and re-evaluate him then before his treatment."

"What are his chances for a full recovery?"

"I don't know about that. We'll need to see how he does after his first treatment. The important thing is that he can breathe without the aid of a machine."

"Yes. See you tomorrow then."

"Bye now."

* * *

Before Eliot faded off to sleep he grabbed onto the pen and the first thing he wrote was, "Where's Parker?"

* * *

Sophie took the dry erase board from Eliot as his hand went limp around the pen. She knew he was back to sleep because his heart rate slowed a little. She read what the hitter had written and now too, noticed that Parker wasn't in the room. She checked in the water closet and the thief wasn't in there either. So the grifter went out to the main hall and saw Nate standing there looking down toward the closed doors. She went up to him and touched his forearm.

"Where's Parker," she whispered into the mastermind's ear so that others couldn't be privy to their conversation.

"Don't know, she passed by me, she looked upset."

"It was a bit bloody rough. But I don't think that's it."

"What happened?"

"I wasn't going to mention it, but this morning, Eliot stopped her from letting her calm him down and pushed her away."

"Did you learn her reaction?"

"At first, she tried to hide it from me. But I wouldn't take no for an answer. She texted that she felt that he was mad at her and that she didn't know what she'd done to make him mad."

"I should go talk to her."

"I told her that I would set him straight and she said not to kill him because she'd healed him enough to make it here to the RICU."

"Well, yeah, that wouldn't be wise."

"I promise I won't. One of my, 'children,' needs to be, 'disciplined,' that's all."

"Sure you won't switch with me?"

"No dahling, you go on," she smiled with the knowledge that she got the easier of the two, 'kids.'

* * *

Parker had swiped Nate's keys when he'd given her a hug when they'd arrived before the respiratory guy came to look over Eliot. She'd gotten into his car and locked herself up inside it. Inside, she let the emotion of several months come over her. The thief had kept it all bottled inside because she was afraid to let Eliot see that she wasn't strong as she sat vigil over him; showing weakness wasn't an option. But now that he'd made it to the point where he'd be able to talk again… Everything couldn't stay buried anymore. She thought if she'd cried and washed all the emotion out of her, then she'd be able put walls up and to be strong for the next portion of Eliot's journey back to health. She was grateful that Nate had a box of tissues in his glove compartment. Parker was so busy filling tissues she didn't even notice when Nate had snuck up to her window and tapped on it. She startled a bit and then she cleaned her face up a little. She still wasn't letting him into his car. She wanted to be alone.

"Go away Nate, I'm fine."

"You're in my car, Parker, I can't go away…" He smiled.

"Oh rotten shiny tomato…" She said and then she unlocked the driver's side of the car.

* * *

Nate got in and locked them inside the car together.

"Now, I heard from a little birdy that Eliot wasn't nice to you this morning, is that right?"

"I didn't know little birds could talk."

"Doesn't matter, Parker, do I have my information correct?"

"Yeah," she sniffled as she looked down at the floor mat.

Nate pulled her over the center of the car and she willingly went. He put his arm around her like Archie used to from time to time when she had done a good job.

"I don't know the exact reason Eliot was being an ass, but Sophie will find out for me. But I can tell you, Eliot has his independence. He doesn't like having to depend on anyone to get him through the rough times because as I see it, he doesn't think he's worthy of the support. Because of all the bad he's done, he doesn't think he deserves people that want to take care of him. He fears that if they knew all the bad things he's done, they would turn away from him."

"You mean like what he did for Moreau?"

"Yeah, like that time he asked you not to ask what he's done in his past for Moreau. He was protecting us from the truth, because if we knew, he would have to leave a team he had grown to like."

"But we've all done bad things we regret."

"That's not the point. He sees it as a weakness to get sensitive in front of us. He sees his injuries as weakness he has to deal with on his own. It's from his military training."

"You mean like that thing in Monty Python where the guy said it was just a flesh wound even though he'd almost lost all his limbs?"

"Yeah, kinda," Nate chuckled.

* * *

"But the way he pushed me away… It felt like he was angry with me and I didn't know what I did. All I've done is tried to make him comfortable and keep him calm so that he could heal. What did I do wrong?"

Nate felt sorry for Parker. She was taking so much on with the oversight of Eliot's care and now she was blaming herself for Eliot's outburst. Maybe it was time for the rest of the team to step it up and help out? Well, except for Hardison.

"I don't think it was you, Parker. He could be upset that he's still stuck in the same bed for so long."

"You're supposed to say that. Thanks, but I feel it in here," she spoke as she pointed to her heart. "He's angry at me. I'll deal with it… I'll be fine, Nate."

He knew that there was no arguing with the thief. She had it set in her mind one way… He suspected nothing would change her mind, unless Eliot apologized as he groveled on his fully healed legs. And yet there was bigger news brewing. Nate didn't have the heart to tell her that Hardison had gone out and gotten married. Maybe they all could pretend that the hacker hadn't gotten married? So when Hardison got remarried, it would be like the first time. He let her go and she sat up straight in her seat.

"Would you like for me to take you home for a while? I'm sure Sophie can handle Eliot."

"I can't go. My stuff is in the room."

"Sophie can watch it for you."

"How? It's not where she could see it."

"Didn't you put it in the closet?"

"No. I don't trust housekeeping."

"The air vent?"

"I can neither confirm nor deny that."

'How very Parker…' Nate thought as he sat in the driver's seat.

* * *

"I just need a little more time to get the hee-bee gee-bees, willie-nillies, or whatever you call them out. Then I'll come back up to keep watch."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Well, let us know if you need anything else. Do you have your cell?"

"Yes… And thanks."

"No problem. I want my keys back though. Just push the automatic door lock when you get out."

Parker didn't want to give them up, but she relented. Nate got out of the car and she watched him leave from the rear view mirror. Nate was the kind of guy she'd hoped that would have taken her in if he'd been a foster father. She wasn't as close with Archie because he didn't have time for sharing emotions, or took any kind of whining from her. It was always the job with the pair. Now he was a totally different man when it came to them. He took the time for the important things like buying prom dresses and teaching his children how to drive. He was there for them if they had problems and emotions they needed to get off their chests. She hated that part about Archie Leach. Then she decided she didn't like the name Parker Leach, because that's what it would be if he adopted her. What if he wanted her to change her name? Then there might not be any more Parker…

Time seemed to fly and when she checked the clock on her cell, it was time to go back for lunch. Maybe Eliot would be awake…? He probably wouldn't allow her to feed him whatever they allowed him to have…


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N - I took Wed off so that I could rest my hip. And I made sure this was just the perfect mix of awesome and funny.**

**And it's FRIDAY so you know what that means! Goodies! And YES, chapter 27 is almost ready! But that will come out on Monday!**

**I hope you all enjoy this and PLEASE REVIEW!**

* * *

When Parker got back to the room, Eliot was still asleep. She sighed as she entered the room. Sophie was reading an old magazine she'd picked up from the main hospital lobby.

"You should go on and get some lunch with Nate."

"Nate went to get something in the cafeteria. Are you alright, love?"

"I can neither confirm nor deny that."

"You should go on home, get warm shower, grab a few outfits, and come back later this evening. I'm sure he'll sleep at least until dinner. You'll feel better, promise."

"But I told Nate I was gonna stay here."

"Parker, I'm perfectly capable of watching him until you return. Go, have some lunch, get some fresh air. You both've had a rough day," Sophie pleaded.

"You'll watch over my bunny?"

"Yes, I promise. You can trust me."

Well, they'd been on more jobs than she could count on two hands… And they had built some kind of trust between them because she turned to Sophie, countless times for advice. But that was only really because she couldn't turn to the boys for relationship advice; that would be like asking the Titanic to put itself back into one whole boat. Most of the time Sophie hadn't directed her in the wrong direction; maybe there was something good for her if she went home?

"Don't leave him alone for a second… And, and make sure he's comfortable; don't let him get upset. His blood pressure might go all wonky, and I'll go; but only for one night. I reserve the right to sneak back here in the middle of the night if I can't sleep," Parker narrowed her eyes.

* * *

Sophie didn't want those terms but she'd take them if it meant she gained some one on one time with the recovering hitter. She needed to know what was going on in that damaged brain of his. It obviously had to be damaged if he was getting angry at Parker like he had.

"It's a deal."

"Thanks for thinkin' of me," Parker spoke in an Eeyore kind of sentiment as she gave her a hug.

"You're welcome, love. Sweet dreams."

And away the thief went. Sophie assumed that if she didn't find Nate, Parker would most likely break into the mastermind's car. The grifter sent him a text to warn him… And let him know that if he wanted to take Parker home right away, she could wait for lunch. Then, since she knew he would want to take the thief right home, she put in an order with Nate for what she really wanted for lunch instead of hospital food. If she had to endure the badly made coffee or food once more, she was going to pull a nasty little job in the dietician's office, with Parker's help. Seriously, after the first time she'd tried the food, she actually shuddered at how bland and boring it was. Thank God, Nate agreed and took her out to their favorite fine Italian Ristorante… And the night after that fabulous dinner made her howl during sex at the full moon light as it came through his bedroom window at the Bridgeport loft. Sophie smiled to herself at the little memory that popped into her head. No one actually saw the little rosy blush appear on her cheeks before she settled down.

* * *

Nate showed up with lunch and he stayed until dinner, Sophie was glad that he'd found Parker and had settled her in at her home. Then he received Sophie's request and purchased fresher options for her and himself. He went out again and brought back the grifter some dinner plus one for himself. They didn't discuss what happened with Parker earlier before lunch in Nate's car. They held off because Eliot could listen in and Sophie hadn't gotten to speak with Eliot yet. Once he ate with her and said good night, Sophie had the bed chair dressed down with a clean sheet and a thermal blanket with help from Josie, Anisette's sister. She spent the night in her jeans and a cream cashmere blouse. She woke when she heard some beeping going off as the sun was rising. A shadow came in the entryway and she turned on the light above Eliot. It shined low above the bed, enough for the woman to see. Sophie relaxed in the knowledge that it was the nurse.

The IV machine giving Lazar the saline and antibiotic medication to keep infection down was alarming because it was time to change the bag. She let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. Her mind had alarmed that it was something serious… Sophie wondered how Parker made it through night after night of beeping and alarms. The grifter thought the thief was braver than she gave her credit for. With the bags finally changed, the nurse left and Sophie sat in the chair next to the bed. The nurse left the light on and it was enough to continue reading an article on how not to get your luggage lost.

* * *

Suddenly, Sophie felt a hand grip her shoulder and wanted to scream, but then she remembered where she was and the only other person in the room was Eliot. She stood and grabbed his dry erase board off of the rectangular bedside table before she looked in on the hitter.

"Good morning, darling."

She could see the panic in his eyes. Then she took his hand and strongly gripped it to show support. Sophie knew what he needed…

"You want to know where Parker is." She whispered.

He nodded his head up and down twice.

"I sent her home for one night. I thought you both needed some rest after the tough day yesterday. Nate drove her to her place. Listen, you and I have to talk. Well, more like I talk and you write."

Eliot took a deep breath in and slowly released it. Sophie bent one leg back upon the seat of the chair and stood like a flamingo on one leg.

"Now, I want you to tell me on here, what happened that got you so upset?"

She handed him the board and he wrote his view. Then she took it when he finished. He didn't write much but she could tell there was more to what he wrote than what he wrote on the board. She erased what he wrote and opened the pen up.

"You can't just be angry with her because she touched you… She's done that before. Love, she pokes your bruises, and socks your shoulder, that can't be all."

He angrily grabbed the board back and scribbled something quickly. She took it from him…

"Oh. You have a point, darling," she smiled. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself."

* * *

Eliot was dreaming of his youth with Aimee and the nights they spent out by the local lake in the back of his truck when he heard an incessant beeping in his ear. He thought it was a car horn to begin with until he reached the stage where he could actually have clarity in his hearing. That damn IV machine was going off again… He couldn't wait to be fucking able to get out of bed and leave his room for good! He tried to go back to sleep when he heard the nurse talking to someone. He cranked his eyelids open a little to take stock of his company to see a dark headed woman. Eliot grabbed her shoulder and she jumped up to get the writing board. Sophie was here… Where was Parker? Had something happened to Parker? He worried that maybe being in the room when his breathing tube was pulled out was too much for her. Had she totally given up on him because he had just tried to stop her from behaving more like a girlfriend than his sister? Was she angry with him? But still, his brain brought him back to the first thought, where was Parker?

When he felt her hand grip his, he worried more. Then she told him what he had been thinking. He couldn't help but nod in the affirmative. She whispered an answer low because she used Parker's name. Then she told him that she had sent her home and that she'd deeded some rest after the tough day they'd had. He relaxed a little that nothing serious had happened to the thief and that Nate had taken her home instead of her going alone. Then he heard the last part of the statement from Sophie… They needed to talk. Fuck, now he was in for it. He took a deep breath and slowly let it go to prepare himself for the onslaught. She handed him the board and wanted to know what had happened the day they had moved from the ICU to the RICU. What a mess he'd turned that day into! Just because he'd tried to stop her from giving him a hard on and from blowing their cover…

Eliot didn't know how much detail he should go into… So, all he wrote on the board was this, 'She wouldn't stop touching me.' And then she took it before he could rethink his answer. Shit, he realized he sounded like a damn 6 year old complaining about a sibling. It made a little bit of sense because they were playing brother and sister but… It was still off, way off base. And well now Sophie had seen through his thin defense. Fuck, he was going to have to come clean or she was going to nag him for the truth until he caved, or worse, she'd use those fucking mind tricks she used in the past to get her revenge. So Eliot took back the board and wrote this, 'A, 'brother,' shouldn't get morning wood from his, 'sister!' 'Yes, dammit, I have a point! A point I don't fuckin' want! But the issue is; now she thinks I'm mad at her… Well, I sort of am. She tried to blow our cover… Sure, not intentionally, but still. Now their friendship was a little strained because he was trying to protect them all. And wasn't that his job?

* * *

Yeah, that was his defense… He was protecting the team's cover. So, why did his left hand still tingle? Was it still missing Parker's small, delicate hand? He hoped he wasn't having a stroke… Maybe it was a Trans-Ischemic attack, otherwise known as a TIA. He knew it wasn't a heart attack because is breathing was relatively even and he wasn't having searing pain in his chest or elsewhere. Except for maybe where bones were knitting back together. Maybe it was neuropathy? Whatever the case, he needed to keep a mental eye on it to make sure it wasn't nerve damage of some kind. He needed his hands… To cook and to fight, protect.

"I will smooth things with your, 'sister,' and when you can talk, you should still apologize for, let's say, the way you, 'handled,' things with her…" Sophie offered.

He took her advice in and decided to think about it later. He couldn't really talk until they gave him clearance to anyway. Eliot didn't want to risk the loss of his voice just to apologize for some stupid move he made. He nodded and Sophie seemed to be alright with how things stood for the moment. Seriously, maybe he shouldn't talk and just shower her with 1 million freshly printed bills… That might do more in his favor than if actually tried to get the words out to apologize.

* * *

Then Josie came in to take the last vitals for Mr. Lazarus Ford of her shift. She had the chart open and as she began to write things down she decided to tell his family of the changes to his treatment. She noticed that Lazarus himself was awake as well.

"Good morning, Mr. Ford. I have some excellent news for you. Good news is, today, you get to eat! Bad news is; it's mainly a soft diet prescribed."

"And that means what, exactly?" Sophie asked.

"Well, he'll be eating things like mashed potatoes and gravy, apple sauce, Jell-O, soup, pudding; stuff like that. If he tolerates that well, the doctor will probably change his dietary plan to something more solid. More than likely, that will happen once all the drains come out. You're healing really well so those will probably come out soon."

"What can he have for breakfast?" Sophie asked and Eliot nodded.

"Depends on what dietary sends; but most likely, there will be scrambled eggs, oatmeal, maybe a banana. Maybe some juice of some kind… I know; oooh tasty right. Sorry I can't be of more help."


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N - Hiya everyone, here's the last chapter for a few days... I have to have laser eye surgery tomorrow and I have to take a little break to rest my eyes. Then about a month later I get to have the other eye done. **

**So, I don't know yet if I will have a new chapter on Friday or not. If I need a little longer I might try to get it out over the weekend. But that's reaching...**

**This chapter has a lot of twists and turns... I hope you all enjoy it and PLEASE REVIEW! Hardison Muse wants to come back to the story but he's out of orange soda... We can't have that now can we? So your reviews buys him orange soda...**

**TTFN!**

* * *

A while later after some texting, Nate arrived with the cavalry. He brought Sophie some breakfast and snuck in more food for Eliot. After a suggestion from Parker, Nate picked up an order of silver dollar pancakes, with sausage and scrambled eggs. It was a place he took her to only a few times because she liked those little pancakes because they reminded her of money. And she liked money in all forms… Earlier, when the nurse came in with his tray, she exchanged the cup of the oxygen mask for the nose fangs as Parker once called them. He just couldn't do the plain oatmeal or the eggs that looked runny; both were cold to the touch. The banana was the only thing Eliot had been able to eat on his own. So, in an effort to help Eliot, Sophie flushed the nasty oatmeal and eggs down the toilet. He kept the apple juice. It wasn't so bad, the hitter fed himself. Sophie had placed the erase board by his hip if he needed anything after she cleaned it off once more. Midway through his breakfast, he used the dry erase pen and wrote what was on his mind. Then he turned it around…

"Parker will be in later," Nate answered.

Eliot hoped that she wasn't going to avoid him now; hoped that he hadn't strained their friendship so much that she hated him. He erased the board with his sheet since the eraser was out of reach. He continued to breathe deeply whenever possible. Then he wrote something new on the board and turned it around.

"No, she's not mad at you. She's confused. She's blamed herself for your outburst when you moved in here," Nate once again answered.

No… No… NO! That wasn't what he wanted to hear. He quickly flipped the board, erased it, and wrote something speedily.

"It wasn't exactly her fault… It was both their faults," Sophie read to Nate. "Would you like me to speak for you?"

Eliot wasn't too sure what she had in mind, but he surrendered to her request with a nod yes. Sophie stood and crossed the room to close the door for privacy.

"He was protecting the cover. He needed to stop her before she blew it by the way she was touching him."

"I don't get it, how was she touching him?"

Sophie leaned over and whispered something into Nate's ear. The look on Nate's face was priceless… It resembled something between a blush and an, 'Oh!' Then the heart rate monitor began to alarm as Eliot's face was turning a bad shade of red. So he began to take deep breaths anyway he could to calm down. This situation was a nightmare! He wondered what she'd said to Nate. There was nothing worse than your boss finding out that you nearly had a boner with a coworker… No, wait, there was worse… There was always worse. He'd survived worse… Fortunately, Eliot was able to control his heart beat and it didn't alert anyone on the outside that something was wrong in the room.

* * *

"I don't think Parker will understand how she was at fault for you getting angry," Nate spoke.

"The way I see it, she probably thought she was trying to make a connection with Eliot, because you know Parker, she doesn't reach out to anyone. She probably was falling into her character as his sister from observing other people. She was likely trying to show the staff how she cares for her brother," Sophie added.

"And since we know she had a brother that died…" Eliot had scribbled on his board and Sophie read for him.

"Makes sense that she would project some of her memories onto Eliot," Nate summarized. "She had feared that she was going to lose her, 'brother, Lazarus,' and it unlocked the pain perhaps."

"Yes, especially since you expired three times…" Sophie told Eliot who she thought had been too sick to know the reality of what had been going on.

'Fuck, she must really hate me,' Eliot thought.

He could only imagine what Parker had been through since he'd entered the hospital, much less the whole team. He understood Nate not staying for any extended period of time. Sophie was a mother-like type who would watch over everyone, but Parker… He assumed that she wouldn't have been with him as much as she had considering her hatred of hospitals and medical personnel. With the revelation from Nate, it complicated things… A lot.

"I'll talk to Parker on your behalf if you would like," Sophie offered.

Eliot shook his head no and pointed at himself. Yes ma'am, he was going to somehow mop up his own mess. Yes, he'd fix things with Parker… Right after he pulled his head out of his ass and found the words to apologize the right way to the thief. Dammit! He hated to think how much more the situation could become more complicated than it had already become.

* * *

At 11:30 in the morning, Shelby Cross came to pick up Eliot for his hyperbaric treatment and Parker hadn't arrived yet. It was starting to weigh on his mind… He checked out at 95% oxygen going through his lungs. Shelby and a couple other orderlies took him to where the hyperbaric chamber was stored. Nate and Sophie stayed in the room in case Parker finally showed up. Sophie wanted to go with Eliot instead of letting him go alone, but Nate told her that their nephew needed to rest and not worry about her there viewing his treatment for however long he needed to be there. Eliot agreed; he needed some time on his own to sort things out in his mind. Right at noon, the hitter went in for his breathing treatment…

* * *

No one knew that Parker had spent the night in the hospital… Right above Eliot and Sophie. She hadn't been able to sleep at all that night at home. She'd taken a hot shower, changed into the pajama's Sophie bought her, after she'd washed them, and somehow she wasn't sleepy enough to close those eyes and relax. Worse yet, her hands tingled for hours and hours… Parker knew she wasn't sick. The more she tried to distract herself with thoughts of schematics maps for buildings and museums, her deliberations kept coming back to Eliot. Was he feeling alright? Was he comfortable? Did he miss her? Was Sophie keeping him calm enough? Was he breathing? Was his heart still beating? It was driving her mad. So, about 11:30 the night before, she hotwired a car and stole it from a parking garage not too far from her warehouse. Then she spent most of the night traveling through the ductwork looking for Eliot's room. When she found it, she relaxed and went to sleep in the metal box, right where she had a way to keep an eye on Eliot and Sophie.

The IV alarm had begun and it woke her up. Parker was careful not to make a sound when she woke and before the two of them knew of her existence, she quickly shimmied her way away from Eliot's room. She found a physician break room and abducted a coat to blend in with the environment. She left the hospital in a cab and the stolen car at the in the parking structure there. When Parker got back home, she texted Hardison to help the police find the stolen car, but she didn't know that he was already on the job. They wouldn't be able to trace her because he had already taken care of the camera footage. She had been covered head to toe… So no traces of hair or fingerprints. When Nate and Sophie texted her about breakfast, she'd been hanging in a rig from her ceiling eating from a box of cereal. She was glad that Eliot could eat but she knew he would hate a soft breakfast. Just thinking of breakfast and Eliot brought up cravings for his pancakes and then she remembered the restaurant he'd taken her to. So Parker suggested for Nate to go there. She'd added that she'd be in later…

Later came along and Parker was up in the duct work again, this time she was waiting there in the metal box for Eliot's arrival. She could see the giant window in front of the small room where Eliot's bed would be rolled into and into the giant white tube against the wall. When he finally did arrive, he looked uneasy. She hated that he was all alone except for the orderlies and that breathing guy that took the tube out. Parker could have been there herself but after what Nate said about Eliot needing his independence, she decided to back off for a little while. So, she had stayed home and snacked on massive amounts of cereal for lunch and dinner. She'd gone over all her rigging, done laundry, watched To Catch a Thief, and tried to forget about Eliot for a little while… And it didn't work… That's when Parker had the idea to keep an eye on him from the ventilation unit.

* * *

"You think Parker's alright? She didn't ring or text me last night. I thought for sure she'd come back yesterday evening, Nate," Sophie worried about the thief.

"She was here," Nate opened up. "I had Hardison keep an eye on her last night. He texted me that she spent the night in that vent right there.

Nate pointed to the air vent right above the restroom door. He'd guessed that Parker had been so distracted that when she'd put her shoes on, she'd put on the ones that Hardison had implanted tracking chips in. After their conversation about her not wanting to leave because her, 'stuff,' was in the room, got him to thinking… And suddenly Sophie was having him take her home. She didn't have any bags with her when she'd gotten into his car… So where was this, 'stuff,' which she couldn't leave behind? It made sense that with how he knew Parker, she would watch whatever she left. Hardison happened to be up and playing video games, so he put him to work. Sophie hauled off and punched Nate in the shoulder.

"You could have shared that information with me a little sooner, don't you think? I've been worried about her since she left."

Nate rubbed his sore shoulder.

"And what would you have done with it? He would have known something wasn't right when you kept looking up at the vent grill wondering if she was alright."

"Well… You should have told me anyway," Sophie weakly defended her position. "Did she overhear everything?"

"I don't think so. Hardison's been tracking her. Just before I reached the room this morning he texted that she's in the hyperbaric chamber room where the treatments will be. She's in a duct where she has a view of the chamber. She's not actually in the hyperbaric chamber with him."

"That's good news, I think. I would bloody hell worry if she was in that tube with him and something happened to either one of them; God forbid both of them."

"He'll be fine. He's going to get the lowest setting they have because of his cracked open chest. He'll heal faster with the total oxygen environment."

"Whatever we can do to get him back on his feet, the better, I think. Do you think we should tell him Hardison got married?"

"I don't know which would be more upsetting, telling Parker first and he's the last one to know or telling Eliot first and she's the last one to know," Nate spoke as he folded his arms across his chest.

"You're probably right… We should tell them at the same time."

"No, I think Hardison should tell them at the same time. But, it will have to wait once we're all out of here."

* * *

When Eliot returned after his hyperbaric treatment, he was sound asleep. And he slept a good three hours afterward. Anisette happened to stop in to check on the family and was saddened that she'd missed Bethany and Lazar was still asleep. She brought Lazar some heated vegetable soup for a late lunch; a little food to fill his stomach since he hadn't eaten since breakfast. Eliot couldn't eat a full meal because they were afraid his stomach might reject it. He had gone without food for so long that his stomach had decreased. They had supplemented giving him food through a feeding tube with different kinds of liquid supplements to keep him alive; the feeding tube had come out when his breathing tube finally came out. Because it was liquid, the waste just came out with the urine and into the drainage bag attached to the bed. Now that the patient was eating, he was going to have to either get help getting out of bed for a toilet stop or he was going to have to use a bed pan…


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N - If you read the last chapter when it first came out, please go reread it before you read this. I had an oops moment, thanks!**

**A/N - My right eye's vision is still blurry, but little ol' me other wise known as One Eyed Jack, was able to knock another chapter out for everybody. They say the blurriness is normal... We'll see.**

**I hope you all enjoy this treat and there will be another chapter posted TOMORROW for FABULOUS FUNDS FRIDAY! There might even be chapter 30 on MONEY MONDAY! If not then, then most likely WALL-SAFE WEDNESDAY!**

**Yeah that's right, we're almost to chapter 30! WOO HOO! I created the documents up to chapter 45 last night so things are moving closer to the wedding!**

**And the titles for the days of the week was Parker Muse's idea... As if you hadn't already guessed. LOL!**

**Definitely PLEASE REVIEW! We got more reviews and Hardison came back! **

**ENJOY!**

* * *

When Eliot went back to his room, Parker shimmied back to the entry point and changed her clothing up on the roof before she went back into the reality of the world below. She stopped in and nicked a peanut butter and jelly sandwich while the cafeteria was so busy with hospital staff and patients' families. After eating; she went to Eliot's room with her black backpack over one shoulder to discover that she'd just missed Anisette by almost half an hour. The hitter was asleep and so she was able to sneak in under his radar. Nate offered to get her something to tide her over until dinner but she said she'd already eaten. Parker sent him off to get her a hot chocolate instead.

"Did you enjoy your night off?" Sophie asked as she sipped on some tea in a paper cup.

"No, I should have stayed here. I couldn't rest."

"Everything went well last night. He slept like a rock."

"He looks better now. I started to worry that he was losing too much weight. Did he eat what I suggested Nate buy?" Parker looked hopeful.

"Yes, he fed himself as well."

"It's all up hill from here I think," she smiled.

"What would you like us to do?"

"You can go if you want. I'll be here from now on. I just couldn't stay still at home and Nate doesn't like it when I go jump off things without supervision."

"True. A few words of advice… Don't touch him at all… At least not until he gets out of this place."

"Why not? Did I do something wrong?"

"No. Just don't so that he doesn't get mad at you and push you away again. You know him; he might get very angry at you next time. I wouldn't want him to have you tossed out of here for getting him all upset."

"Okay, I'll behave."

"Please try harder, for all of us."

* * *

When Eliot awoke later just before dinner, he had thought he would see Sophie and Nate when he came to, but was surprised to find a very small set of buns staring at him. He noticed the long, almost bird-like legs attached to that behind and recognized who the small backside belonged to… Parker was back. And from the look of it, she was either doing her type of yoga or just stretching her legs. See Parker didn't like the names for the yoga poses that she practiced daily, names that had been there for many, many centuries were tossed. Instead, she made it her own. Downward dog became the pyramid, because she believed that dogs didn't bend that way. In reality, she'd associated the move with the Cairo Museum by renaming it the pyramid. Some of the moves she'd named after certain movements she'd had to do to get around laser security systems. The Paris pose was to remind her of the Louvre, so that one involved squatting mid-way down and both hands together and pointed towards the sky. If you saw it, she looked like an Eiffel Tower.

He smiled as she finished what she was doing and he quickly pretended to be asleep. His hand had gotten better somehow. It still tingled but now, it was less. He wondered if Parker felt the same thing… Anyway, it was just a hunch but he pretended to be grabbing for something on the bed, as if he were reaching for her hand. Eliot thought his apology might seem more sincere if he held her hand as he tried to speak the words. The doctor still hadn't given him clearance to speak yet, but this was Parker. He'd break the rules to patch things up with her if it meant he could get back on her good side. Only problem with how he worked the details out of how things would go; was that Parker didn't take his bait. No, she finished her yoga and took up camping out in the corner of the room on that chair that Sophie had turned into a bed the night before. She did not sit by him; she was just a presence in the room. Any farther and he'd almost consider her a wallflower. No, his plans wouldn't work at all… Not with her out of his reach. Was she still afraid of him? Not that he blamed her… Much. He could be an ass when he wanted to be.

Parker sat there, looking all innocent, with her legs curled under her and some kind of magazine-like book in her hand. Since she had a pen he assumed it might have been crosswords. She drove him crazy from time to time when she did crosswords because she would ask him the harder questions that lead to answers that needed 6-9 letters to solve. He didn't know why she'd ask him when Nate, Sophie, or Mr. Age of the Geek was a hell-of-a-lot smarter than he was. But no, he'd help her… Because his payoff was the smile she'd put on her face when he helped her find a word she'd been searching for. Well since she didn't fall for his bait he gave up, and just in time for dinner to come…

* * *

"Well, look who's awake…" said Josie as she came in with his evening tray of soft food. "I have dinner here for you Mr. Ford. I managed to find some chicken soup and there's a roll you can dip into it. Can't do crackers yet because we're watching your sodium content. We wouldn't want you to start swelling from all that salt now would we? Nope. And there's cherry Jell-O for dessert. I managed to get them to put a little whipped topping on it for you. I hope you enjoy!"

It didn't seem so bad except he'd been dreaming of slow-cooked pot roast with roasted vegetables and nice gravy. Or even a good burger from the Bridgeport Pub would be better than the hospital food they wanted him to gain nutrition from. Eliot was already looking forward to engorging himself on food when he got out to gain back some of the weight he'd lost; healthy food mind you, not fast food…

"Ms. Ford, would you like anything?"

"I'll take an extra tray of whatever you have," she spoke softly.

"Okee dokee, I'll keep an eye out."

"Thanks."

Eliot watched as Parker pulled out her cell phone from her pocket and began feverishly typing on it. He assumed it was important by the look on her face and the pace of her typing. He opened the small bowl of soup and made the mistake of trying to drink it. It was just colored water… No sodium at all with boiled vegetables. Fuck! Maybe when he was better he could talk the team into pulling a job on the hospital and overhauling their food program...

* * *

Parker was busy on the phone ordering take out from a place called Nate & Sophie's Meal Rescue Service. Sophie had asked if she wanted them to do anything… And so far, it was called helping to save Eliot's stomach from total decay and her from cereal withdrawals. She decided to let them pick but she and him seriously needed something good for dinner. She looked up and he was watching her… With those beautiful blue eyes.

'Sigh,' she thought.

"Cavalry is on the way… It's gonna be pot-luck tonight. I left it up to the others to choose something tasty for us to eat," she softly spoke at Eliot.

He smiled and she watched as he wrote on his dry erase board. Then he turned it and it read, 'I owe you one.' She put her head down and shyly smiled. She looked up a few heartbeats later and he'd written, 'Can we be US again?' She knew that was probably the only kind of apology she'd get from Eliot. That sad pouty look he had on his face acted like acid on those three feet thick walls there around her heart and she nodded yes twice… It was then she noticed that her hands weren't tingling as much. Parker stood and went closer to Eliot's bed. She put the guard rail down by his left foot and sat on the bed. She was strictly adhering to Sophie's request not to touch Eliot… Although he didn't look mad now. No, it was for the best. She could touch him all she wanted once they got out of the hospital and he couldn't get mad at her then…

* * *

It was twenty minutes later and Hardison lightly wrapped on the door frame. He really didn't want to be the delivery service that night, but there was a few things he needed to clear up, now that Eliot was conscious and able to breathe on his own. Nate and Sophie told him he needed to pull his head out of his arse and set things right with the hitter and thief. breathe on his own. Nate and Sophie told him he needed to pull his head out of his arse and set things right with the hitter and thief. He took a few a few steps in with the plastic bags in his hands and Parker met him half way. She pulled him into the bathroom and told Eliot to excuse them for a moment.

"What are YOU doin' here?"

"The King and Queen sent me. I need to discuss with y'all."

"If you're here, let's make one thing clear, Geek-boy, do not upset Eliot," she narrowed her eyes at him. "He still doesn't feel good. And I don't want anything around him that's gonna make him worse. He's healing good and he's almost out of here. Besides, you upset him now before he gets out and he's liable to take your head clean off when he gets out, got me?"

"Crystal clear, Princess. Now, can we eat, I'm starving and this food's gettin' cold."

"Since I'm the Princess, does that make you the Jester?"

"Nah, more like Court Adviser to the King and Queen," he said.

"I like you as a Jester more. Now, let's go feed the Prince."

"Maybe I should be the Prince and Eliot can be the Captain of the Guard."

"Perhaps, come on, food's gettin' cold."

* * *

So Parker led the charge out of the bathroom, and she closed the room door for privacy before she let Hardison sit in the chair she once sat in close to Eliot's bed. She had already dumped Eliot's soup down the toilet to let them think he'd actually eaten it. Then she took up her spot in the corner where she was comfortable. Hardison passed out the pre-made rectangular box of Japanese food to her and the bowl went to Eliot before the hacker took one for himself.

"Now Princess Parker over there wanted you to have a burger and fries but I picked up on your habits and I got you somethin' tastier, oh Captain of the Guard. This is steamed brown rice with thinly cut and cooked beef with onion plus steamed vegetables and a light dusting of sauce over the whole thing. And no I didn't get you no chopsticks because you down one hand, man, that's just cruel. And for Princess Parker, I got you steamed brown rice 'cause it's chewy, I got you double the same beef without the vegies, and light sauce."

Both she and Eliot smiled.

"And since you up now, man… I brought you your cell phone. I know you can't talk yet, but you can sure as hell text with one hand if it takes you all afternoon. I set up the others' identifications for texting but I couldn't decide on yours. So it's up to you, dude. I have B. A. Hitter, ATeamHitter, or SuckerPunch… I will let you think on it and let me know when you decide… Or well, Parker can let me know."

Eliot began to write on his board and he turned it around… 'Dammit Hardison,' the thief and hacker spoke at the same time. Then he wrote again… 'Really been dyin' to get that one out. I'm almost back to whole!'

"Now I won't fess up to this if Nate and Sophie find out, so don't try. And normally wouldn't admit this in person, but I'm glad to actually hear it again, well read it this time. There was a time when we didn't think you'd pull through, man."

Parker seemed really pleased when Hardison and Eliot shook hands. They were brothers again…


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N - I am still One Eyed Jack... And will be under going CK Therapy this weekend...**

**A/N - Patty, you must have missed what Hardison said last chapter... He gave Eliot his options for a Text ID there... Best go reread it :)**

**A/N - So, my READERS... I can't decide, so we're gonna take a vote. Which ID sounds the most like Eliot... **

**B. A. , B. A. is Mr. T from A-Team and CK likes the show.**

**ATeamHitter because Eliot is the team's hitter...**

**or ****SuckerPunch... Pretty easy to understand...**

**Please vote in your reviews and I will tally them up on Monday.**

**Enjoy and please review...!**

* * *

"You know everyone else's ID's right?" Hardison asked once they finished eating.

Eliot shook his head no… Was he supposed to? He noticed the worried look Hardison and Parker shared between them, but then they let it go because surely his little memory loss could be remedied.

"Well, they're pretty self-explanatory anyway, GriftRUs, SpiderMonkey, YouCan'tHackThis, and MegaMind."

He shook his head at the ridiculous nature of the identifications the team members chose. Or was it just Hardison being idiotic? He had no clue… But his inner voice told him to lean on the latter of the two.

"Look, there's somethin' I gotta tell you and you both will probably hate me once I tell you, but I gotta do it because I want you both to be there."

"You're not leavin' the team are you?" Parker panicked a little.

"No, mama, no. If I was leavin' why would I want you both there? That would totally, royally suck."

"What is it then?"

"I didn't mean to hurt you or my bro here… I got married."

Eliot feverishly wrote and turned it around… 'You what? I thought you and Parker…' Hardison read to himself.

The hitter noticed that Parker became eerily silent. Then she stood and moved towards the door. Once there she started pacing as if she were having a conversation with herself. Eliot figured she was probably trying to figure out her emotion and how she should feel over Hardison's news. What was bad was the fact that Sophie wasn't here for her to walk Parker through dealing with the news. When it came down to the brass tacks, Eliot was happy for Hardison. What he was upset about was the fact that the hacker was still with Parker… Not to mention, he wanted to be there… If not as best man, then at least he thought he ranked up there with a groomsman. Where exactly did he want him and Parker to be?

'Where did you want us to be and why?' Hardison read from the board on his lap.

"See the thing is, because we didn't get married in no church, my Nana and her parents are having' coronaries. Sophie nearly killed me before I softened the blow by offering to allow her to plan the two weddin's it's gonna take to satisfy our families. I want you both to be there for the ceremonies."

Eliot erased his board with the sheet and wrote more while Parker continued to pace, 'I won't wear any costumes. And no I won't do one of those, 'Kill the Orc's,' get-ups either.' Hardison read to himself.

"What is it y'all have against World of Warcraft? Seriously, it ain't goin' away… If ya can't beat me, just join me. Besides, you ain't the first to say that either. Nate had first rites."

* * *

Both the hacker and the hitter worried that Parker wasn't taking the news well… And now they find out that Nate and Sophie knew and didn't say anything… Oh boy… Hardison started texting Sophie right away and if she made it to the hospital, Nate wouldn't be too far behind. He hoped this wouldn't be a disaster and Parker never wanted to talk to him again. She had still wanted to be friends before the news; he just hoped she didn't want to quit on him now… About twenty minutes later, the reinforcements arrived. Sophie took one look at Parker and ushered her out of the space. Nate took up the extra chair in the room and set it next to Hardison.

"I take it you told them…" Nate began.

"Yeah, she's been like that for over a half an hour, man."

"Sophie's good at sorting her out, just give 'em time."

Hardison turned back to Eliot. "Sorry it had to be like rippin' a Band-Aid off."

"She'll be fine," Nate spoke.

The hacker wasn't as sure as he watched as Eliot wrote something akin to a whole paragraph and turned it around, 'She better be alright, dammit. Or when I get outta here I'm gonna rip more than Band-Aids off of you.' Hardison felt the shudder go through him at the thought of being torn from limb to limb by the hitter.

"Now take it easy. You just need to focus on getting yourself better so you can get out of here. Parker's not gonna be happy when she comes back and finds you upset," Nate voiced directly to Eliot. "And as for you, you run… Hide until Parker gets settled down. I'll text when she's back to Parker's version of normal."

"I need to call my wife anyway and update her on Eliot's condition…" Hardison wanted to stay and work things out with Parker, but it wasn't the right time. "I'll see you around, man. When I get back, I wanna see you on those feet… You hear me? 'Cause, 'cause it ain't fun without you, Bro. Later, Nate."

* * *

Sophie found a comfortable looking couch in an empty room and pulled Parker in behind her. She pushed down on her shoulders and made her sit on the piece of furniture.

"Now, tell Auntie Ophelia your problem…" She stated, even though she knew the whole story of Hardison getting married.

"Too many emotions up here, and in here," Parker said as she pointed to her head and then her heart.

"You remember when I discovered my jealousy button… I don't like it that Hardison got married. I didn't meet her first. What if she's a gold digging whore that doesn't love our hacker? I don't like it…"

"Well Parker, you don't have a right to be jealous. You do have a right as his friend to ask to meet his wife, politely and nicely. She might be a very nice person."

"Or she could be the Spawn of Satan…" Sophie inwardly laughed at Parker's attitude.

"Now seriously, Parker… I don't think she's that evil."

"How would you know? You sound like you haven't met her yet."

"I haven't."

"Then how do you know?"

"Because I can read Hardison. I don't read anything bad off of him when he talks about her. And come on, let's face it, love, anyone who'd want to marry that World of Warcraft dipped geek on two legs, has to love him… A lot. And aren't we just a little bit happy that he found someone he can be happy with for the rest of his life?"

"That's a loooong time… How will he stay happy that long? What if he gets bored?"

"Parker, that's what working on a marriage means. They will work together to keep each other happy. Look, the point I'm trying to make is that regardless of how you feel about Hardison's bride, you need to be happy for him. Now, what else troubles you?"

"Eliot sort of apologized in Eliot's way," Parker began. "But what has me torn, is that you said no touch and I'm being drawn to him… Said he wants to be US again."

Sophie began to deliberate. After what she knew from Eliot, allowing Parker to touch him could mean trouble and he wasn't ready to run yet. They had no way to get him out of the hospital if they had to flee. So they all were stuck. No, Parker had to stay clear. However, the hopeless romantic side of her had to give Eliot kudos for trying to make up with Parker the way he had. She could have kicked herself for not being there, but it was something that had to be done in private.

"I'm glad he cleared things up with you, but stay away Parker. I'll give you a special present if you behave," the grifter didn't really want to but she had to bribe the thief to get what she wanted out of her.

"Can I pick what I want?"

"No, then it's not a gift."

"What is it then?"

Sophie tried to think of it in terms that Parker would understand and then gave up. "So, how do you feel now?"

"I guess I'm okay… But only because I have to be for Eliot, he'll get mad at Hardison if I'm not okay."

* * *

Eliot wrote on the board after Hardison left and turned it for Nate to read, 'When did Hardison and Parker split?'

"Not too long after you got out of surgery. Then apparently he did something that upset Parker and that was the end of the road."

The hitter didn't remember what had happened that caused the split between the hacker and the thief. He had been so in and out of consciousness that things felt like a hot mess inside his head. Fortunately, Eliot hadn't lost the knowledge of his name or the names of his team. He erased his board and wrote a bit more, 'How long until I get out of here?' and 'what went wrong that landed me here?'

Nate's expression said more than it probably should have. He looked defeated with guilt and yet hopeful as he tried to put on a smile.

"It's up to you, I guess. You're healing as fast as you can. I don't know what went wrong. Honestly, you know how I am. I planned for everything, Eliot."

Eliot knew when Nate was at the top of his game, everything went exactly as planned. And that job had… But the retrieval specialist knew that something could always go wrong. And to be honest, he couldn't blame Nate for what went wrong. He couldn't blame the others either. No, the responsibility fell on his shoulders. He was supposed to be at the top of his game… A little more scribbling gave Nate some kind of absolution from his guilt, but Eliot knew the mastermind would continue to carry it on his shoulders.

* * *

Parker spent the night on the flattened chair and Eliot seemed to be glad with that. At least she hadn't been in some duct somewhere above him. He watched her as she slept peacefully. He wondered if she had pain from her recent split that haunted her or that she didn't understand. The one thing that he did know was that he didn't want to be her rebound guy; that would seriously hurt them both. And all the touching, was she trying to send him a different kind of message? Was she trying to let him know that she was available? After all, it was Parker; she wouldn't just come right out and say it. So in light of the new bits of news from Hardison, he decided to keep an eye on her.

* * *

While Parker slept that night she saw floating and talking heads in her sleep, swirling and talking at her. Sophie yelling at her not to touch. Hardison telling her that he got married to get back at her for giving him up. Eliot was there angry that she couldn't keep her hands off of him. Even Nate was there to yell at her for breaking into his car… Then this gigantic monster with long hair looking a bit like a female Godzilla with a pearl necklace, red-painted fingernails began to roar, and chase after her. It was trying to kill her by stomping her to death. It was a creation of Parker's mind of what she thought Hardison's wife looked like… And so the poor thief spent the night running through the silly dream.


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N - I am having a sucky week already, but I am doing my CK Therapy and relaxing...**

**I found out today that my car was robbed. They stole my dialysis bag with my refill of heart medications and left a mess in the car. They emptied the glove compartment so I have no registration or insurance on the car. At first I wanted to yell, Dammit PARKER, but that wouldn't have helped. To make things worse, my hip is killing me, I can't see out of my right eye still, and I'm hormonal...**

**A/N - This chapter is wrapped in bacon flavored awesome sauce because of a review from a reader named York! The second half will be posted tomorrow. Unless some other bad thing happens...**

**Enjoy! **

* * *

Eliot went every day for his 'Hobbit Therapy,' as Parker had taken to calling it. Each time he came out, he would sleep heavily afterward. The thief never went with him to wait next to the window so she could see him. No, Sophie would come just before noon and then Parker would disappear after she arrived. Later, Parker would reappear and Sophie would be gone. Since Nate had mentioned it, Eliot just assumed that she was up somewhere in the duct system watching over him; something like a crazy guardian angel. He left her alone and didn't question why exactly she vanished because it was Parker, who really knew why she did any of the things she did. What really drew his attention though was that the routine changed the next day on the 8h. He was all by himself… No Parker, no Sophie, not even Nate. He didn't like the feeling that hit the pit of his stomach. Were they on a job? No, they couldn't be, Nate promised… Then a few more thoughts struck him, was Parker all right after Hardison's news? An even more negative voice in his head popped up… When had he grown to expect anyone to be there? Had he taken them for granted that they'd stay? Was he really missing them or was he just going out of his mind that they'd finally left him alone.

Since he and Parker had sort of made up a while ago, she hadn't made one attempt at touching him… Not a one. And yet, something seemed wrong about that. Eliot knew he couldn't have it both ways. If he wanted to keep everyone's covers intact then he had to marshal his feelings and not want her to touch him again. It felt as if his body had started to miss the feel of her hands. He actually missed how good her foot massage felt on his feet that one time… He began to notice that when Parker disappeared before his oxygen treatments, his hands would tingle. When she came back, they would tingle but a little less. And when she wasn't there when he woke up that morning, not only were his hands prickly, but his feet had started to do the same as well. Now the tingling wasn't painful, it was just odd. He thought maybe there was a pinched nerve somewhere in his back… After all that had happened in the OR, it wasn't too far of a stretch. Sometimes patients got jostled around and moved after surgery where their bodies ended up with kinks that weren't there to begin with. But what could he do about it? Eliot considered having the doctor order a cat-scan or something to check things out. He hoped that what they had been doing to him was giving them the results they wanted to see.

Personally, he felt so much better that he thought they should have moved him to the Surgical Intermediate Care Unit or SICU already so that he could have the drains removed. He considered that they had to be anchored so they just couldn't rip them out. Now that would really freak Parker out… Eliot was supposed to go in for his oxygen treatment soon and someone should have been there by then… But instead of going for that treatment, he got a visit from the Chief of the Speech Therapy Department, a Miss Indiana Jones it said on her nametag…

'Seriously?! Damn, she's hot too…,' the hitter thought.

* * *

"Good afternoon Mr. Lazarus Ford, I'm Ms. Indiana Jones and I'm here to help you get your voice back. And before you ask, it was my parents' idea. Mother said I was conceived in Indiana at my grandparents' home on the Fourth of July… My father had the obsession with the Indiana Jones movie series and it stuck… Considering our last name was Jones."

Eliot wrote on the dry erase tablet with a silly smile on his face. She was very beautiful with milk chocolate brown hair with blond highlights.

"You're right, I'm glad I wasn't stuck with Princess Leia as a name. It gets worse from there… My sister's name is Crystal Jones. She got named after the Crystal Skull Indiana Jones movie and believe it or not, my older brother got stuck with Crusader Jones."

The hitter couldn't help but cut loose… 'Sorry, sorry… I didn't mean to laugh,' he wrote on his board.

"Don't worry about it; just call me Indy if you forget. Now if you can sign this authorization for me here, I can get you started."

Eliot signed the piece of paperwork with his left hand. He was glad once again that he'd learned to write with both hands.

"All right, now I want to start practice with enunciating your vowels, A, E, I, O, and U. I want you to go slow. Say them low if you have to and then we can work on putting power into them later."

So with great effort, Eliot whispered his vowels just as she had said to. His throat was still a bit raw from the breathing tube and the nose fangs sitting in his nostrils with oxygen pouring into him. She brought him a sip of water and the second time through went a little better.

"Now, I want you to practice those vowels every day for a week along with this list of words I'm going to leave you. When you feel your vocal cords getting stronger then keep practicing and we'll try putting more energy behind the words so that you don't over tax that voice box."

'Yes, ma'am,' Eliot wrote on his board.

"Oh please, don't call me that. I'm not my mother yet… I'm only in my early 30's," Indy teased Eliot. "Your name suits you as well after what I have heard about your case. My job won't be so bad because you didn't need to have a tracheotomy so you can actually breathe between words. Yes indeed, you definitely look like a Lazarus. I will be back in a few days to check on your progress and get you more things to practice; that sound good to you?"

'What can I say?' The hitter wrote once more.

"Well, you'll be saying plenty when I get finished," she winked at him as he noticed her take note that he had no ring on his finger before she turned and headed out of the room.

* * *

After the woman left, Eliot felt kind of bad that no one had been there to hear him try to speak again. They had been there for so many other milestones in his recovery. Where the hell were they? He actually had to endure what they brought him for lunch; at least it was something a little better than soft food. Blanca the nurse apologized because dietary had forgotten to bring up his tray. He wasn't too upset. She offered to order him a tray but she said because lunch had already been delivered to the other rooms it would take too long to get it to the floor in time before it got cold. Instead, she brought him a plain turkey sandwich with a packet of room temperature mayonnaise if you wanted to call it that and a small packet of mustard. At any rate, he got to have some apple juice to wash it down and he felt damn near human once more. He wondered if he could go so far as to order a sponge bath… He shot himself down with a probably not, because he'd get his casts and things wet, not to mention possibly having an embarrassing moment if the nurse doing it was hot.

Sometime later, he got the urge back and the nurse brought Eliot a commode chair because he wasn't allowed to walk on his own yet; not with two injured legs still healing. One was held together with pins and the other held together with a cast. A bed pan was not an option… There was one thing he preferred to do himself so he didn't feel like a total cripple; to wipe his own ass. He had managed to keep the back of his gown closed with one hand before she pulled the curtain for privacy. It was a bit embarrassing to have to use the chair to have a bowel movement, but it would have been more humiliating to have to do it while Parker or the team was there. He still had to piss into a bag but he hoped that would be over soon as well. Then the nurse helped him back into bed. He wished the venture off the bed could have been longer, but not with the back of his fucking gown hanging open. When he got back in bed, Blanca gave him a full dose of his pain medication. He requested a half dose because he just wanted to take the edge off the pain not totally go to sleep. She couldn't do what he wanted for the reason that she needed a doctor's order to change his prescription. It didn't take long before he felt himself drifting off again…

* * *

Somehow, Sophie had quietly snuck in after dinner while he was sleeping. She was surprised that he was sleeping. She thought he'd be awake and maybe watching some television. It had been a very long day dealing with Parker. She took off her ballet flats and curled up with the thermal blanket on that chair that turned into a bed. Parker needed time to set things up for Eliot at her new home so she wouldn't be spending the night with Eliot. She had Nate and Hardison help her move some of the things from his apartment in town into the farm house on a five acre lot. Sophie changed her mind and turned down the chair into the bed as the food she'd had for dinner began to be processed in her digestive system. Nate took them all out to eat for dinner that evening to celebrate the engagement party the couple never had. Sophie had Parker to her right and Nate on the end. Then Alfie next to Sophie and Hardison sat at the other end. Alfie seemed like a good match for Alec the more they talked about this and that. Most of all, she was glad that the real estate agent was into World of Warcraft so Hardison would feel someone cared when he killed 200,000 Orcs a level.

The thing that worried the grifter the most was that all during dinner Parker seemed to be off in her own little world. She hadn't answered any questions asked of her; instead she'd confused the asker of the question with another question Sophie figured Parker really didn't want the answer to. So after a while the dinner party just kind of left her alone. She disappeared from time to time to supposedly powder her nose. Sophie went with her once to discover that she'd been checking in with the hospital. Someone named Doris took Bethany Ford's name down but the messages didn't get passed on because one thing or another would happen and then Doris would get distracted. Parker asked Sophie to stay the night with him because she had things to do at the new house. She hadn't wanted to try and text or call Eliot because she didn't want him to strain anything to communicate with her. At least Doris had been able to let Bethany know that Lazar had seen the Chief of the Speech Therapy Department instead of getting his, 'Hobbit Therapy.' That was a good sign, Sophie thought and told her. Well, now he was resting and once she made the bed, Sophie drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Hardison had been working with his wife on a project to help Eliot in his recovery. Now he knew that Eliot had an apartment somewhere in town but the location just wouldn't do; because he was probably going to need ramps for a wheelchair and wide hallways for easy maneuvering. So, Alfie found some homes to pick from and Hardison made flight arrangements for her to come down for a short visit. Of the last places to check out Alfie had found a three story home available for purchase right away; it came with a basement, attic, as well as the upper and main living floor. The former home owner had passed and the family was looking to unload the property. There was plenty of space for growing things if need be. Fortunately, the deceased hadn't died in the home, plus it had been kept very clean. So Alfie flew in and he had her meet Sophie, Nate, and … Parker. It went better than he thought it was going to go. Parker acted just like Parker. She hid behind Sophie and acted like she was the grifter's personal live shadow. It had been somewhat funny, to begin with, but he knew Parker and her behavior was saying things weren't alright. He wondered if she had truly lost her mind…

The hacker took his, 'boss, Nate and his secretary, Sophie,' around the home to see what they thought of it. One plus of the place was that it had a large open kitchen with a small island used for food preparation. The living room was right off the kitchen without a partition to separate the two. There were two guest bedrooms on the ground floor and a den with a standard sized Murphy bed on one wall. The master suite had a nice Queen sized, four poster bed against one wall that looked like it had been carved from a humongous block of mahogany. Parker detached herself from Sophie long enough to have a few jumps on that antique bed. He pulled her from that little bit of fun. Then she disappeared all-together and checked out the duct work in the attic. They knew they had found the right place when they'd heard Parker squeal from the basement. Nate wanted to take care of the purchase for Eliot but then Parker stepped in after a long discussion with him in the basement, totally interrupted the conversation, and made a better offer for Alfie to put on the table to the family, through Hardison's interpretation. The offer was difficult to turn down but it still had to go through Escrow… Unless he could work his magic and fix things to move faster.

Alec felt bad with the way Parker had reacted to his marital news and then next thing, he had her meeting his wife. He had considered having Nate and Sophie just tell the other two members of the team, but his Nana taught him to man up when he had to go door to door in that little suit and bow tie… So he'd taken the responsibility on. Somewhere in the pit of his stomach he felt like he was waiting for the hammer to fall… Parker had sort of behaved all day and when she'd disappeared for the second time, Alec felt like it was a good time to try and go smooth things over with the thief, instead of sending Nate or Sophie to retrieve her. He found her down in the basement while the others talked above. She seemed to be staring off into the far window out onto the grounds; still in her own little world. He wondered for a moment if she was trying to deal with her emotions in private again. A habit he'd witnessed several times when they were together. In the past, he'd left her alone, but this time it was more important to see how she was if they were going to remain friends.

"You should have told me Alec…" Parker began.


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N - Got my handicapped sign and registration on the car replaced after those were stolen.**

**A/N - Here's the best part of the argument I think. GO PARKER!**

**A/N - This one's for you, York, STELLAAA and Patty! You Rock!**

* * *

He didn't need to ask her what she was referencing, he knew. No, he deserved the tongue lashing he was about to receive. As they were trying to rebuild their trust, he needed to let her have her say. He stayed quiet out of respect…

"And don't worry about makin' up an excuse… I knew. I knew you'd been with someone when you were with me," he wanted to be shocked but he wasn't considering Parker's skills. "You had me so high on a pedestal that it was only a matter of time before I found a way to zip line my way down off it."

"I'm sorry, Parker. I thought it would hurt everyone less if I waited to tell you and Eliot together."

"Blindsiding me wasn't a good idea, either Alec. Just because I might be a little crazy or different doesn't mean I don't feel… I mean, I didn't feel much other than angry in the past, but Sophie's helpin' to sort that emotion stuff out. And now you want me to accept HER as one of us. No Hardison, I can't," Parker remarkably held herself back from tears.

"Then don't accept her. Get to know her, you might like her."

"Alice don't like her either. Right now, I'm not even sure I want to come to your weddings," she spoke as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Fine… I'll take that. I'll sit in it for a while," he voiced as he held his hands up in surrender. "There's still time. You take as much time as you need…"

There was a long pause. She never once looked at him directly.

"How could you just go from callin' it quits to marrying someone else? But then hey, I thought I could make it work with you for a while… And then you threw me out with the bathwater, for her. What is it that I did wrong? Was I not normal enough for you? Was it because I slept with a stuffed animal?"

Hardison knew Parker was finally having her breakdown and it would be bad to let her go on or she'd never trust herself or him again. And if Eliot found out, he'd be a dead man. A D-E-D Man… It wasn't her fault, it was his. He'd tried too hard to change her…

* * *

"You know, I told Sophie I wasn't surprised when you left to go to a convention after we split. I was there the nights when you talked on your headset to your future wife while you thought I was asleep. I heard things and I saw things… I never really had a good look at her though until she arrived today."

"Spied on me huh? And was I just your steppin' stone until you could snag Eliot in your net?" Hardison shot back at her. "Oh hell yeah, I knew you were hopin' to make him jealous and make him come after you… You don't think I didn't notice the way you made silly eyes at him when you thought none of us were watchin'?" Now they both slung mud at each other to see who could hurt the other more…

"And what was that bet about, huh? You know the one between you and Eliot that you nearly killed him with? What was that, 'Bro Code?' How the hell could he have stolen me away from you when you clearly never had me to begin with? Eliot might be a chick magnet but at least he knows how to treat a lady like a lady when he's with her. He doesn't put them up on pedestals and then watch football for endless hours or work so hard that he forgets them."

"Maybe not, but he only fucks them and leaves them, Parker. He don't have relationships, he havin' sexual relations," Hardison hit hard.

"Maybe so… But at least Eliot doesn't try to control me. He doesn't even really try to change me either. He might correct me if he thinks I need it, but he don't try to act like I don't know what I'm doing when I toss him off a building," she shot back harder as she tried to hold her ground.

Not once had she cheated on Alec since they'd gotten together. Making silly eyes at someone wasn't cheating was it? She decided to ask Sophie about it later. She moved to away from the window toward the staircase. Parker wanted to put in a bid before Nate bought it for Eliot…

* * *

Fuck, he never should have come down to smooth things over with Parker. They'd only succeeded in hurting each other more. The only thing he could think of doing with any hope of possibly saving their friendship or possibly be the nail in the coffin and spell their doom, was telling her the truth. Hardison drew the line at sharing the, 'Bro Code,' with her. That was sacred… It was kind of like the rules about fight club. The first rule of fight club is that you don't talk about fight club. She had started up the bottom three steps when he began.

"You see, Eliot and I weren't brothers then like we are now. So things was different then. Within five years, I was going to claim you as mine since you were the only hot girl in the group. It was kind of obvious that Nate had eyes for Sophie and vice versa. Eliot bet against that I wouldn't win you over, but then Eliot didn't bet on him winnin' you either. If I lost and he won, you was fair game. If he lost and I won, you were mine and he had to keep his paws off for good, no matter how much you wanted him. When he called you, 'Twenty pounds of crazy in a five pound bag, I seriously thought he'd given up on the bet."

Hardison took a seat on a wooden crate across from Parker on the staircase.

"And when we made the move to be us, I thought maybe I might stand a chance. He faded back into the sunset and it was like bein' in high school where the geek scored the hottest cheerleader on the squad."

"There I am again… Some trophy. And where do you put trophies Alec? On shelves to look at but never to take down, dust off, and read," Parker said as she came back down the stairs.

* * *

A memory of her late brother's trophies sat on a shelf above his bed. He'd been into soft ball and basketball. Since his passing, Parker hadn't been to any kind of sporting event that involved a baseball, soft ball, or a basketball. She left the room when the guys had baseball or basketball on the screens. She couldn't believe what he'd said about the bet… She really didn't blame Eliot for getting involved in the stupid bet. She was still angry at Hardison though for blindsiding them both, especially since the hitter was still in the freaking hospital… But the more she focused on that, the more the farm house was slipping away from her… Parker wanted to own it… When she'd snuck down to the basement, she'd looked out the window of the large room and she suddenly had a vision of Eliot on a tractor in overalls with a white cowboy hat and a round canteen over one shoulder as he went about rototilling the ground to get it ready for planting. There was a little girl sitting on one knee and a little boy on the other, both helping Eliot drive the tractor. Then Parker closed her eyes and knew she had to have the property. She could always sell it to Eliot later if he wanted it. Maybe she could even talk him into sharing it…

She decided that the basement would be perfect for hanging up her, 'art.' But that wasn't really what she meant because she was really going to hang up her harnesses and practice hanging upside down. However, she couldn't say all of that in front of Alfie. Hardison's wife or not, Parker didn't want her to know her secrets. She didn't seem too bad at first meeting, but she'd remembered her voice and observed how they were when they were alone when she was still with Hardison. She required some major spider monkey time in some metal boxes in ceilings before Parker considered that Alec was safe. Possibly even more time in the ducts at their offices or anywhere this Mrs. Hardison hung out around Alec and the team. She couldn't nay wouldn't dare trust this outsider…

"I don't want to talk about this anymore. I want to buy this house. Will you translate for me?"

"Huh? What? Translate what?"

Then Parker stood there in front of him and texted him her offer to tell Alfie so she didn't have to talk to the woman.

"I don't get it, mama. There's nothin' to translate. It's all numbers."

"Look again…"

* * *

On his screen was system of numbers that were in a simple code of A = 1 and so on that he'd have to crack before he went upstairs to the others.

"How did you? So fast…"

"Program; stole it from Chaos." Hardison about had a coronary artery explode…

"How the hell did you manage that?"

"Shhh, it's a secret…" She teased.

* * *

When Eliot woke the next morning, he was surprised to find Sophie there where the thief should have been. His hackles went up… Where was Parker? Was she alright? Instead of speaking, he used his dry erase board and wrote something on it for the grifter to read when she woke up. Fortunately, he wrote it as Lazarus Ford looking for his sister Bethany, in case a nurse came in to check his vital signs. Then since Sophie was asleep, he looked to his bedside table to the phone Hardison brought him. Something was wrong there too but he couldn't put a direct finger on it yet… He had a text account before he'd had the crap beaten out of him. It was a combination of two of his favorite things… The A-Team's, B.A. Baracus because that's who he was for Nate's team and the comic book about the Punisher. The B. A. stood for Bad Attitude and that's what Eliot had a lot… What happened to it? Was there an emergency where a new account needed to be created? Was an enemy waiting in the wings to pick him off the map? Permanently? That seemed least likely because Nate and the team would have tried to move him somewhere more secure if that was the case. He picked up the chrome colored phone with the heavy duty black plastic cover over it. The case alone protected it against damage if the item got dropped. Eliot turned it on and found it fully charged. Everything seemed the same as the phone he remembered.

Then he went to work… He sent an email with his own choice of text identification that was more to his liking than the cheesy ones Hardison had thought up. He decided to go with the one he already had, unless he heard otherwise.

The hitter got an answer back right away because the hacker was up late anyway; software updates. After Alec had emailed back that his choice was fine too; Eliot sent a text to Parker.

[B. A. Punisher : Where R U? E.] At first he didn't think he'd get a response…

His hearing was so good that it bordered on the supernatural, so he would have heard the buzz if her phone went off in the ducts around his room. There was no sound other than the soft blow of air conditioning. Eliot tried to be patient… That worked about as well as a moose trying to cross a melting bed of lake ice.

[B. A. Punisher : Dammit! Where R U? E.]

[SpiderMonkey: Shouldn't U B SLEEPIN? P.]

[B. A. Punisher: Can't. E.]

[SpiderMonkey: Why? P.]

Eliot didn't really want to come out and say that he missed having the thief there when he woke up in the morning. So he didn't; instead he avoided her question. He had taken it for granted that Parker would be there every morning… Now that he couldn't admit… Ever.

[B. A. Punisher: Bringing me food this AM? E.]

[SpiderMonkey: Can't. Busy. Wil Lunch. Go 2 sleep! P.]

He was going to have to deal without seeing Parker all morning… Eliot sighed before he closed his eyes.


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N - I finally got some muscle relaxers and stronger pain relievers for my hip. So here we are on Wall-Safe Wednesday with two new chapters!**

**Really I couldn't help myself, Eliot Muse kept me in bed for the longest time. Parker Muse joined us from time to time... Just to check in on me. Eliot watched over me real well...**

**So, I hope you like the updates and PLEASE REVIEW! **

**TTFN!**

* * *

Later on that morning, he was supposed to practice his vowels and the words that the speech therapist left… But he couldn't with Sophie there because he wanted Parker there to hear his first words. They never left him alone and he actually felt like they were truly his family. He thought of his parents in Oklahoma and wished that his mother was still alive. She was an angel in the ground already. She'd been killed by debris from a tornado as she'd been trying to get to the storm cellar after gathering up her laundry. His parents split up after he went into the service. His father remarried and ended up just outside Oklahoma City. Didn't care for his step-mother much because she wasn't much older than he was; a former stripper named, Blaze, and she came with a daughter named, Beretta. Eliot rolled his eyes when he'd found out. He wondered how his step-sister was. Once he'd gotten to know her through her letters to him while he was in the service, he actually kind of liked her.

Obviously, he felt sorry for her because of his father and her mother. His mother was already buried by the time he'd been able to get leave and that had only been a week; practically tore what was left of Eliot's heart out of his chest. He guessed his father hadn't wanted him to know… He'd gone back and finished his time in the service. Once he'd gotten out, he'd helped Beretta Spencer move out and put her somewhere safe; a promise fulfilled. Then Damien Moreau snapped him up… Eliot was glad that his new family had him snapped up; safely in their clutches. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, even though they were annoying as hell at times, they saved his life every day. He wondered how Beretta was doing since he placed her in Fort Bragg, California along the coast. She became a surfer once she'd seen the Pacific Ocean. He decided to have Hardison check in on her. Maybe once he got out of the hospital he'd have her come for a visit. While he was at it, he decided to have Hardison check on his enemies. He still thought they should have killed Moreau while they had the chance.

Eliot hated to but he needed to let the cat out of the bag, because the speech therapist was going to check up on his progress. Or maybe he could engineer a way to get rid of Sophie for a while. Well, he was rescued by the physical therapist. Once again it was a female and she was the head of the department. What he didn't know was that word had spread among the professionals that there was a hot guy up in the RICU. So it was like everyone was taking one of those Diet Coke breaks, just to come see him. Now that he had been able to get up and use the commode chair, there was a need to start checking on those healing limbs.

"Hello, Mr. Ford?"

Eliot nodded yes.

"I'm Jeanie Bryan. I'm here to take you down and we'll get those muscles working again."

He didn't understand the plan since he still had a cast on both legs and one arm. He liked her cranberry red colored hair. She had it pulled up in a strict ponytail like Parker sometimes had hers in. Sophie was there to save Eliot…

"But he still has casts on, isn't it too early for physical therapy?"

"And you are?"

"His Aunt Ophelia Ford; my husband, Patrick Ford is his Uncle," Sophie snipped back at the woman.

"Well Ophelia, I'm going to take him down to X-Ray and then I will read his films. He should be close to the point where the casts can be replaced or come off completely. If so, then over to the physical therapy ward we'll go. We'll do some simple stretching exercises. After that he will get replacement casts or braces to help him as he recovers."

Sophie didn't like the look in the woman's eye…

"Fine, then I will be happy to wheel him down there for you."

"That's alright, I can manage."

"I insist, love," Sophie was not about to let Eliot out of her sight with this woman; Parker would have agreed with her.

"Okay then," Jeanie relented.

* * *

Eliot wondered what the hell had just happened… Was he in some kind of danger? He knew Sophie was watching out for him in Parker's absence. But, something had gotten her panties in a twist. So grifter watched as Jeanie put the gait belt around Eliot's waist.

"Now, push up with your left and I'll help you get into this wheel chair."

"Just wait a moment. He's missing something," Sophie walked out of the room and had a nurse run and get her another gown. "Here we are…"

He wasn't sure what she had in mind with a second gown… Until she showed him the method behind her madness. She had him put the clean gown on backwards, which meant that his backside was no longer visible to the open public. Then she tied the ties in the front in little bows.

"There we are. More comfortable than that cold seat…"

Jeanie carefully got him into the chair and they started out. A quick stop at the Nurses' Station for the main chart and a couple warmed up thermal blankets for his body made the trip more enjoyable. He managed to make it through the x-rays and in deed he was able to get his casts off. The fracture had healed but it was still a newly healed bone. It would need support for another couple of months at least. The broken bone was still knitting back together. Jeanie had Sophie cleanse his skin and put some white petroleum ointment on his skin to protect it from itching or cracking. He felt so stupid that he couldn't even wash himself, so Sophie carefully cleaned his legs and his arm behind the privacy of a curtain while Jeanie took care of his paperwork and getting other supplies ready to recast his limbs. The dead skin and the yellow of the iodine needed to come off. He didn't have a problem with Sophie cleaning him like he might have had with Parker. Eliot knew Sophie was off limits because she belonged to Nate. She dried him off in time for Jeanie to come back with a cart full of stuff. She mixed up the plaster and dipped the gauze in it. He had been expecting it to be cold… She'd used warm water so it went much better and he wasn't in such a bad mood.

He lucked out with his arm. Instead of a new cast on his arm he got a soft cast. There was a strip of something he held onto with his right hand. Then Jeanie carefully wrapped it in ace bandages before she brought him a sling to carry his arm in. Then Sophie took him back to his room…

* * *

"Sorry sweetie, she was looking at you like you were a piece of steak and she hadn't had steak in a month," Sophie explained. "Parker would have wanted me to go with you anyway."

Eliot wrote on his board, 'Where is Parker? She said she'd be here today.'

"I don't know exactly. She was with Hardison and Nate when I last saw her. I'm sure she's alright."

* * *

Parker gave up her warehouse and moved all her gear into the basement of her new home once Alec told her she passed escrow. Some of Eliot's favorite things were moved into his room on the ground floor. His clothes were hanging in the closet and carefully placed in the dresser. The master suite was just huge… It was half of the second floor. The other half was a sewing and craft room that the former owner's late wife had. And then when she opened the center door Parker gasped. It was full of wood shelving with a dark cherry stain and the shelves were full of books from the former owner; floor to ceiling. Apparently, the family wasn't much into reading. There was panel of floor to ceiling shelves that were empty. She went to the box of books she'd had Hardison put on the antique desk and filled in some of the bare shelves with Eliot's reading material. She'd stolen a howling wolf ceramic piece from a store in the city because it reminded her of Eliot. She didn't know why, she just did. Then laid an eagle feather she'd found in a small flat box next to it. The feather stayed in the box though; no sense in letting it collect dust on both sides. The first night in her new place had gone okay. The second night, she wasn't so lucky. She had nightmares from when Eliot first went into the hospital and all she could see was the burgundy red of his blood… So Parker got up and went to her newly acquired library and grabbed the wolf ceramic piece off the shelf. Then she padded back to her room and put the wolf on her night stand.

"Night, night, Wahya," she softly spoke before she closed her eyes.

Wahya (Wah-hyah) was the Cherokee name for wolf and that's the description that was on the small card next to the ceramic piece in the case. For some reason it just reminded her of him. Maybe it was his hair or the way he growled at her from time to time. Or maybe it was the fierce look he had on his face when he beat the crap out of someone in their way to an exit on a job. But to her it symbolized Eliot until he could be there with her to keep her safe. She called up a company and used some of her hard earned money to build her a barn from scratch; one large enough to board six horses, tack room, and a hay loft. That would be Eliot's welcome home from the hospital present. Parker didn't know if Eliot had his own horses or not, but she would go buy him a few if he wanted to ride.

Hardison came to visit a couple days after she passed escrow because Alfie had gone back to Seattle to keep up with her other clients. Alec didn't mention her once since she'd left while in Parker's presence. They seemed uncomfortable around each other a while after their fight in the basement but then tried to get past their issues as friends. Parker wasn't about to forgive and forget… No, she could hold a grudge like no one else she knew. Okay, except for the grudge Nate had with IYS and Sterling.

* * *

Parker was unpacking her one plastic bowl, one plastic cup shaped like a stout glass, and her one plate in the kitchen when she heard her phone buzz on the counter. She stopped mid-reach for her single set of metal silverware when she grabbed her phone to see what was up. Sophie was texting her… She felt a tiny shiver of panic go through her. Parker tamped it down before she read the text message.

[GriftRUs: Where R U? S.]

[SpiderMonkey: my farm. Why? P.]

[GriftRUs: He won't admit it, but Eliot's missing U. S.]

[SpiderMonkey: I don't know what 2 say. I won't B able 2 make it back 4 another week. I am sure I am missin' a lot! P.]

[GriftRUs: What's going on, love? S.]

[SpiderMonkey: A surprise 4 Eliot is being built today and 4 the rest of the week. It's a secret. Shhhh. P.]

[GriftRUs: Safe with me. How much time do U need exactly? S.]

[SpiderMonkey: I will B Back next Tuesday. I also have a new moon 2 get ready 4 on the 15th. P.] Before Sophie could respond she sent another quick one.

[SpiderMonkey: How is he? P.]

[GriftRUs: Had x-rays, new casts, and physical therapy. He'll B going 4 HBOT today around 5. They were busy B's today. S.]

[SpiderMonkey: I hope he doesn't think I abandoned him. I had 2 take care of business. P.]

[GriftRUs: I understand. U should text him later B4 bed. He'll sleep better. S.] Parker worried that Eliot wasn't sleeping at night without her, or at least not sleeping as well as he should be. That could negatively affect his healing process.

[SpiderMonkey: I can do that. P.]


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N - Just couldn't help it... Eliot wanted to move forward so here it is!**

**More will be coming on Fabulous Funds Friday! PLEASE REVIEW!**

**With your reviews you are helping to direct where we go!**

**TTFN!**

* * *

The time flew by faster than Parker had expected but she'd promised Sophie she'd text Eliot before he went to bed. She'd taken a shower and crawled into her bed somewhat satisfied the day went the way she'd wanted. They got the framing and outer walls up for the barn. She had no idea that they could ship a whole barn in and put it together like a jigsaw puzzle. Tomorrow they would be back to finish the interior. Then when they were done she could have the wood sealed for weather protection and then painted. Parker picked up her phone from her night stand next to her stolen Wahya. She punched in the right address and sent Eliot a text message.

[SpiderMonkey: Don't worry. I'm okay. P.]

[B. A. Punisher: Where U Been? E.]

[SpiderMonkey: Partyin' hard. Sorry. P.] She teased and pushed his buttons.

[B. A. Punisher: Dammit Parker! Been waitin' on U ALL DAY! U said U'd B here today. E.]

[SpiderMonkey: I bought something special and I had 2 take care of it. P.]

[B. A. Punisher: U… Bought something? Ha! E.]

[SpiderMonkey: I did. I did. Can't wait until U C it! Listen. I WILL 4 SURE B back on the 16th. Think U can keep away from the nurses that long? P.]

[B. A. Punisher: Well, your guard dog Sophie is here. How much trouble could I possibly get into? E.]

[SpiderMonkey: Plenty if I know U. P.]

[B. A. Punisher: Sophie thinks the physical therapist wants 2 make a pass me. E.]

[SpiderMonkey: I will try 2 hurry things up then. Behave. P.]

[B. A. Punisher: YAWN. I'll try. E.]

[SpiderMonkey: Night Eliot. P.]

[B. A. Punisher: Night Parker. E.]

Her fingers had been itching to tell him that she loved him but the timing wasn't right. She needed to recharge her batteries with the new moon first.

* * *

Eliot laid there with his eyes open as he tried to mentally process what Parker had said… She'd bought something. She'd bought something that needed to be taken care of. With the crazy thief she could have gotten anything from a pet to a car or maybe it was a plant. What if she had gotten a pet? Such as a dog or a cat… She'd have to be responsible for feeding it until it could no longer do so. Was she ready for such a long commitment? He wasn't so sure. But it was Parker and he wasn't with her to tell her no. He sighed. It had been a long day… He closed his eyes and tried to get some much needed sleep.

* * *

On the very early morning of the new moon for October, Parker was up an hour before the right time. She'd taken the cleansing shower with some sea salt to prepare, out onto her backyard porch in a black sweat suit, with a pen, and her supplies she needed for a new moon ritual. She pulled her sacred objects out of her bag she put together from the rest of the supplies at the warehouse. The picture of Eliot, a guitar pick, a different t-shirt she'd stolen this time, her rose quartz wishing stone she'd kept after he'd pushed her away, her bracelet, some dried lavender flower buds in a little sachet, a small vial of lavender oil, a tiny two inch candle came out last, and onto a small wicker table next to her white rocking chair. She pulled out her small sage wand to make the space sacred. She pulled out her pocket size journal last to keep a record of her intentions. Then she lit the sage wand and blew it out, letting the smoke start. She used it quickly around her body and then traced around the back porch before she doused it in an ashtray. There, she had her sacred space.

Next she ground herself to connect with the earth energy. She pushed away the feelings of nervousness, racing thoughts, possible mania, and any negativity… Parker remembered that the earth was under her feet, down below the boards of the back porch. She closed her eyes and visualized energy coming up through the floor and moving through each Chakra of her body. She felt it leave through her hands and circle around her. Then when she felt calmer she was ready to set her intentions; to make a list of what she wanted to draw into her life. As she wrote what she wanted down, her purposes this time had more to do with Eliot's healing and coming home. She wanted to draw more healing to him because he was on the edge of being finished with the hospital. She hoped that he would be able to be home for Christmas because she had an idea for a gift that he'd never forget. None of the other team members would forget it either. As her symbolic act she put the rose quartz bracelet and stone with a table spoon worth of the lavender from her sachet into a wishing bag. She copied her intentions down on a slip of paper and put it in with the rose quartz and lavender.

Parker closed the bag and took a few deep breaths to calm her mind to relax a little before she started her incantation over the rose quartz. The incantation over the items charged intentions with power. The tiny red candle got a drop of lavender oil on it. She knew that she would need lots of courage to deal with her friendship with Hardison and for the trials of Eliot moving to unit after unit; each one bringing their own challenge. However, those moves would bring him one step closer to leaving the hospital. Right at 5:04a.m, with the candle lit, she held the intentions, wishing stone sized rose quartz, and the bracelet made of the same stone inside the small white bag in her hands.

'I dedicate this rose quartz to love, healing for Eliot Spencer, and courage. I am attracting a loving relationship into my life. I am attracting love, good food, and family into this house. They will grow and prosper here. All my needs, both physical and emotional, and mental, will be met. All of Eliot's needs both physical and emotional, and mental, will be met. And so it is!' Parker invoked in thought.

She didn't speak out loud for fear of someone listening in… She didn't know her neighbors yet and she wanted Eliot or the team there when she did. She mentally gave thanks to the universe, in advance, for everything about to come in her and Eliot's pathways. After finishing her ritual, Parker packed everything back up except for the small white bag with the rose quartz, intentions, and lavender. She hid her journal between her mattresses. The candle burned down into a small little candle holder there by her bedside. She snuffed it out before she sprawled in bed and under the covers. She fell asleep thinking about what it would look like on the day when Eliot finally got out of the hospital.

* * *

Later on that morning when she got up, the last thing she needed to move into the place was Eliot's utensils; the ones he created food magic with. She decided to save moving his knives and other things like that last. Hardison came over to hook up a twin set up like they had at Leverage with 8 flat screen televisions, only Parker went a step further and had Alec hook up 9 this time. Then she had him install a projection screen for movies that would come down with the touch of a button. She spent time unpacking the boxes of dishes and glasses she'd bought for when company came over. She bought enough settings for a dozen to eat at her dining room table. It was considered bad luck to have a 13th person at your table because as the saying went, the 13th person would die within a year. Parker didn't want anyone do die… Supposedly, it was a superstition started back during the time of Christ and the last supper; because he was the 13th person at the table.

Hardison actually stayed the night in the den Parker designated as the computer and office room, on the Murphy bed. She'd painted one wall for Alec in a pastel orange soda color. Then the orange wasn't so harsh on the eyes. The curtains on the opposite side of the room were the same pastel orange color. The other guest room she designated for Sophie and Nate was just perfect. The walls were a nice shade of light gray while one was a darker gray almost black. Against that one wall were two tall, fake potted plants, two might stands, and two candle stick holders that looked like the Egyptian goddess Isis. Her arms were under the candle holders so she looked as if to be holding them up. The bed was very masculine with acute angles and no curves. It was black with chrome accent pieces and just as high as a knee cap or below. The sheets were a light gray with large black flowers in a modern French style kind of way. There weren't too many pillows and it was perfect. A large white candle stood on a crystal stand on one of the end tables. Parker put it there because she assumed that's what side Sophie slept on. There was an antique mahogany armoire against the wall near the window where the curtains were that same dark gray to block out the light. She got that hint from Sophie about how Nate needed it very dark to sleep well.

Eliot's room or the other guest room was nice as well. She'd painted the walls a nice warm vanilla ice cream color. She had a nice framed poster of a wolf looking right at you, almost staring deep into your eyes on the wall facing the foot board of the bed. The bed was made out of bark-stripped wood poles so that the natural wood could show through. It was shellacked so it protected the wood from damage. His top sheet looked just like the plaid from one of his shirts, only it was in a white and a dark emerald green or a forest green if you will. Then the whitest, softest, cotton sheet she could find. The fitted sheet was again that dark emerald green or forest green. The pillow case edges had small eagle feathers sewn on them; embroidery was just perfect. A quilt rack sat in a corner with two handmade quilts for those nights when the ground was covered in snow. Then in another corner a big over-stuffed black leather chair sat and a tall standing lamp stood; just the perfect place to curl up in that leather chair and read; or Parker had placed his guitar on a stand next to the chair.

His mother's small music box was on display on the dresser with a couple guitar picks; his cologne and hair brush were next to the small box. She had taken great care to move all his toiletries into the bathroom. She personalized the guest room Eliot was going to be sleeping in so that he felt even more comfortable when he arrived. Parker hadn't done as much on Nate and Sophie's room because she wanted Eliot to move in with her on a more permanent basis. Now remember, she wanted Eliot to share the home with her. As Alec busied himself in the computer room slash den by playing World of Warcraft, Parker spent the rest of her evening looking through catalogs. She found one for Tuff Shed and her eyes settled on this one barn… So she set her mind on having one. It didn't take long before she had ordered the most giant sized barn she could think of. It had a back stair case and the bottom could be used as a four car garage and the upper area could become Parker's office. It had six gables on both sides of the roof, each with a beautiful window.

When she got a look at the dimensions for the building, she decided to take all her stuff out of the basement and turn the basement into a man cave for Eliot, Nate, and Hardison. After all she had a sewing and craft room she could have Sophie teach her how to use it… So Parker ordered her a second barn and she didn't have enough time to have it built while she was away from the hospital, but Sophie could come and supervise. She could make arrangements to have the man cave put in around the full moon. She'd need to take a break from the hospital then anyway. She should have just let Nate and Hardison could over-see the man cave but she decided to do it herself and surprise them.

* * *

Eliot was a good boy and went to his, 'Hobbit Therapy,' and he felt the huge difference afterwards. He was able to make it to 1500 on that breathing contraption that the respiratory therapist left. The only one he was lacking in was speech therapy. When Miss Indy came to check on his progress he wrote on his board that his throat was sore or he was too tired to speak; in some cases that wasn't too much of a white lie. His throat did hurt from time to time. Of course he didn't want to say anything around Sophie. He knew he could talk if he put his mind to it, but instead he put himself on self-imposed vocal rest. It started to drive him a little mad that he couldn't figure out what Parker was up to and this thing that needed taking care of… Then he wondered if Archie was sick or something. Maybe Alice's friend was sick… A part of him wanted to get out of bed, check out of the hospital, and make Sophie drive him to Parker just to solve the mystery. He didn't like being left in the dark and absolutely hated being on a need-to-know basis. What if she was in trouble? Where the hell were Nate and Hardison anyway? Shouldn't someone be here to relieve Sophie?

Then his mind reminded him that Parker was going to be coming back the next day. Later on that day, Dr. Milton came to see him as well. He was the surgeon who had been there from the beginning. He'd come to tell Mr. Ford that it was time for his drains to be removed; that he would be going in for a short surgery to remove the anchored outlets tomorrow. They would give him a sedative to put him out and a general anesthetic. The whole thing would take an hour and a half and then he would be moved into the surgical intermediate care unit or SICU, after he woke in recovery. Eliot seemed to go along with the plan. He'd still have to take it easy for a while after to make sure everything healed properly and he didn't develop a serious infection. All he could be thankful for was that it was another necessary step to going home.


	34. Chapter 34

**A/N - Hi Everybody! I'm callin' all my readers, reviewers, and lurkers!**

**I have returned. Not sure officially what happened but I believe I had a gallbladder attack from a high dosage from a new medication I was taking. I feel much better now that I'm not on it. And Eliot, Parker, Sophie, and Nate Muses came to visit me while I was in the hospital for two days. Hardison Muse grumbled but he came in later...**

**So, that means I can get back to writing for yawl!**

**And what would a MONEY MONDAY be without another chapter? **

**Pretty boring I'd say. So, here we go!**

**Enjoy and PLEASE Review!**

* * *

Sophie was glad to hear that Eliot was moving forward and that they would soon be moving again. After moving to the SICU then he'd probably get to move to a regular room for about a week; just to make sure things were going well. Then they could all head out to Parker's Farm… That was still so interesting to think of, Parker owning a farm when she seemed more like a city girl like her. However, the situation she was most concerned with was the fact that Eliot still hadn't tried to talk; instead opting for the dry erase board. After Dr. Milton left, Sophie hit her phone…

[GriftRUs: Eliot is going in for surgery tomorrow. S.]

[SpiderMonkey: What? What happened? P.]

[GriftRUs: Don't panic. Dr. Milton wants 2 remove Eliot's drains. S.]

[YouCan'tHackThis: How long will it take? H.]

[GriftRUs: About an hour and a half. S.]

[SpiderMonkey: If they put him under, tell 'em he fights when he comes out of sedation. P.]

[GriftRUs: I will when they come for him tomorrow. He said he'd take him in first thing in A.M. S.]

[SpiderMonkey: He won't B able 2 eat after midnite. P.]

[YouCan'tHackThis: I'll drive Parker there in the A.M. H.]

[SpiderMonkey: Get me there B4 they come 4 him. P.]

[MegaMind: Do U or Eliot need anything? N.]

[B. A. Punisher: Can anyone get in on this gab fest or…? E.]

[GriftRUs: Of course. Sorry. S.]

[MegaMind: Do U need anything? N.]

[B. A. Punisher: I could use a beer and some Chinese from that place we always order from. E.]

[MegaMind: I'll see about the Chinese. Owe U a beer when U get out. N.]

[SpiderMonkey: Bring me some fortune cookies please… I'm all out here. P.]

[YouCan'tHackThis: I'll feed us, Nate. Concentrate on the others. H.]

[B. A. Punisher: Did Sophie tell U I'm going 2 the SICU after I recover tomorrow? E.]

[SpiderMonkey: No… That's great. Will B there in the A.M. P.]

[B. A. Punisher: Better B… E.]

[GriftRUs: I could use a change of clothes. Chinese sounds great. No idea what Eliot's gonna get 2nite 4 food. S.]

[MegaMind: I will B there in an hour or so. Leaving now. N.]

* * *

Several people dropped off from the conversation. While Nate waited at the drive thru window of their favorite Chinese food place in town, he checked his phone. It had buzzed while he was driving so he wasn't able to stop and answer the text.

[GriftRUs: Eliot isn't talking. S.]

[MegaMind: Has the speech therapist seen him? N.]

[GriftRUs: Yes. However, he only used his writing board. She said something about him practicing his vowels and words she gave him. He's written excuses on the board instead of doing as the therapist recommended. Feels like he's putting himself on vocal rest 4 some reason. S.]

[MegaMind: I wouldn't worry about it 2 much Soph. Parker will straighten him out tomorrow. N.]

[GriftRUs: What if he can't speak Nate? He was injured badly. S.]

[MegaMind: Then we'll have 2 decide what 2 do as a team. Gotta go, food's comin' out. N.]

The more he thought about what Sophie said; Nate realized that would be a very serious issue for the team. If Eliot couldn't talk then they'd have to hire a new hitter. Sure Eliot could still hit and take orders through the ear buds. However, he wouldn't be able to give them status reports. No, he wasn't ready to absolutely give up on their hitter and retrieval specialist. Because it would be devastating to the team and the most devastating to Eliot. Parker might even quit the team to take care of Eliot because of the amount of enemies he had stacked up against him. But then again it didn't hurt to come up with a few plans just in case what Sophie worried about was a real possibility.

* * *

Later on, after Chinese A-la Nate, Sophie left the two men alone in the room. A good stretch of her legs was in order because Parker didn't want her to leave Eliot alone, so she didn't leave the chair next to his side almost all day except for breaks to go to the loo. Nate took up her chair close to the bed because he needed to get some clarity on the issues she was concerned about.

"Can you talk or are you staying quiet for a reason?"

He watched as Eliot scribbled something on the board, 'Waiting for Parker.'

"Why?"

After a bit more scribbling, Nate read the board, 'Felt she deserved to hear 1st.'

"I see. Soph is worried. I'll try to keep her at bay."

'Thanks. There's so much I want to say and so much I'm sure I shouldn't because she's not ready. Parker, I mean,' Eliot wrote.

"At the rate you're going, you might make it out before Christmas, maybe even Thanksgiving."

'I plan to be out of here sooner than that, man.' Nate wondered what the hitter had in mind…

* * *

About 4 o'clock in the morning on the 16th of October, Parker couldn't sleep and padded into the den to find Hardison playing around on his computer. It was obvious the hacker couldn't sleep either… She knew him too well. She made him get dressed and he drove her in to the hospital. Even though it was way before visiting hours, she snuck into the room through an air vent. Sophie was already awake and helping her while Eliot slept. Then Parker put Sophie's harness on her and then the grifter went up into the same duct the thief had just come out of. Fortunately, Parker had given her a map and a flashlight to get to Hardison waiting at the other end and Sophie wasn't too scared of tight spaces. Eliot was sleeping hard because of pain reliever from an order from a doctor he hadn't seen. Supposedly he was a colleague of Dr. Milton's but in reality it was a little of Hardison's help with an order from Parker. Neither Eliot nor Sophie picked up on the false identity… Parker had the feeling that he wasn't sleeping well when she wasn't there. She wanted him to get a little sleep before she appeared.

The dim light was on above his head. It gave him a kind of glow because it wasn't like those fluorescent lights above the bed that made everything look bad; it was more of an ethereal golden color. It picked up a little of the blond highlights in his brown and dark hair. It made her want to go, 'Aww.' She took up the spot Sophie left on the bed that became a chair in the morning, after she'd changed into the pajamas the grifter purchased for her. Parker knew things were going to be hard on her but they would be harder for Eliot. Yes, she told Sophie what to say but since she was there in her place, she decided to handle the whole ordeal on her own. She had her recharged rose quartz bracelet on her wrist and she slowly closed her eyes as the fingers of her opposite hand rubbed on the pink stones.

* * *

Later on, about 6 o'clock in the morning Eliot drowsily woke as the phlebotomist from the lab came to take some blood for last minute testing. When she left, he noticed a different shade of hair draped across the pillow on the pull out bed. It was blond and as his eyes focused in the dim light he saw that it was Parker. The thief was back… He sighed and tried to go back to sleep. An hour later, no dreams were to be had as the team came in to collect Lazarus Ford to take him to pre-op. He watched as Parker woke up, pulled off her pajamas to show that she had on a t-shirt of his on, gathered up just below her hip and knotted, and a pair of black leggings. The stretchy material perfectly hugged her lithe body and her hair was sleep-messed. She looked rather hot… Eliot had to look away from her to gain control over his body. How the hell had she gotten that shirt? The last he had seen it, the white shirt with CASH written across the chest had been in the bottom drawer of his dresser in his apartment in the city; that was the drawer he kept for his favorite shirts. She must have broken into his place. Dammit PARKER! With any luck he assumed that she didn't know that CASH meant the man in black and she probably assumed it meant he liked money. She had her favorite pair of black tennis shoes on with her black pack hung on her right shoulder and she looked ready for action.

Eliot closed his eyes but he wasn't asleep. The bright lights at such an early hour began to send flashes of the past that brought back memories of the times that he was tortured. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself. Parker still hadn't moved close to the bed, but she let the pre-op nurse know that she was his sister, Bethany. She kept her hands off… And he noticed that his hands didn't tingle once again. They wheeled him in through a set of double doors where a line of beds waited in a holding pattern.

"You can say your prayers and good-bye-for-now's here," Eliot heard the pre-op nurse tell Parker. "He's up next. We're going right from here into surgery and from there he'll go into the PACU until he wakes. Once he has sufficiently recovered he'll move into the SICU."

"I must be there when he wakes up when you're all done. He fights when he comes out of drugs."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible. Family is not allowed in the post-anesthesia care unit until the charge nurse says so."

"Well then I want to see the charge nurse," Eliot could see that Parker was getting upset.

"She's busy with other patients at the moment."

Eliot saw a man come closer and take the post-op nurse aside out of his and the thief's hearing range. Then a few minutes later he came back to where they were.

"I'm sorry Miss Ford. You have my permission to be there when he wakes, though the anesthesiologist can use a different kind of medication so that he won't fight."

"I know my brother, Doctor Milton. I will be there for him."

"Very well then. It should only take me about an hour and a half. And I promise to do my best to fix him and get him back to you, my dear."

The hitter listened to all this while he had his eyes closed. A change had really come over Parker. She wasn't the touchy feely kind anymore; she acted more like his sister. Very much like a grown up sister and somewhere inside that kind of scared him. Maybe because she didn't sound so child-like…


	35. Chapter 35

**A/N - Well it's Fabulous Funds Friday!**

**And I have two pretty little updates for you!**

**WARNING: BRING TISSUES!**

**And don't forget to REVIEW!**

**TTFN!**

* * *

Just before Eliot was about to be rolled away into the operating room, he felt something warm and heart shaped pushed into his closed hand. He didn't even get a chance to look at it because they had already given him a sedative to calm him before he got the good stuff before the procedures began. He was too sleepy to know that it was the recharged rose quartz oval-shaped stone from Parker. While he was under he dreamed of being in a room with brilliant white walls and then his team appeared… Each one of them wearing white. Nate had a white suit with a white silk shirt; Sophie had a white silk blouse and a plain white 50's style poodle skirt without the poodle appliqué; Parker wore a white Regency style sun dress; and Hardison wore a plain white t-shirt and white Dickies pants. He looked down and he too had white on; a white dress shirt on over a white vest and white jeans. Then the most gorgeous sunset he'd ever seen appeared and they all walked on emerald green grass over to this doubly long painted white park bench. It fit them all as they all sat down; Nate, Sophie, Hardison, Parker, and him, Eliot. They all watched the sun start to set together. Then Eliot kicked the others out of his dream and watched the sun set with Parker on that park bench.

* * *

Parker paced as she waited in the surgical waiting room with Sophie and Nate. Hardison couldn't be there because there was a risk someone might recognize him from when he played Bethany's boyfriend; the one that got kicked out of Lazarus Ford's room. They didn't need hospital security all up in his business and kicking him out again. So instead, Alec got to watch over the delivery of the second barn that was to become a garage and a training space up above. He made sure to text her pictures when her decision was needed. Parker wasn't handling the waiting very well. It was already past the hour and a half cut off. It was already two hours… She began to worry that something had gone wrong; her hands felt like they were voodoo dolls with pins of all kinds stabbed into them. At least they didn't feel like they were on fire. Then Dr. Milton personally came out to take Bethany Ford back to be with her brother. She took up the small chair next to the bed. He apologized for the delay and said that it took longer to put Lazarus under than he had expected. The surgery went as planned and all the drains had been removed. Some had left a little scar tissue so that had to be cleaned up as well. Now all they had to do was watch for infection. He wrote an order for a low dose of antibiotics to be given just in case. If he did develop a stronger contamination, then he'd have to give him a higher dosage or they would have to examine going back in to flush out the wounds.

Bethany agreed that it could be a possibility. However, she was going to keep up her healing rituals, but they didn't need to know that. They had Lazar tilted up at a 35 degree angle to help fluids drain towards the bandages so that they could be wicked up by the thick gauze taped to his body. Once the doctor left, Parker stood and pulled two small vials out of her black backpack; one held lavender oil and the other jasmine oil. She stood there and waited for Eliot to start fighting. When his hands began to go all Bruce Lee on the air space in front of him, she opened the vials and began to wave them in front of his nose like smelling salts. Because he had been fighting he took big breaths of air; the lavender and the jasmine scents made it deeply into his schnozzle. Then he began to settle down and put his arms down. His blood pressure began to settle. He had set off all kinds of alarms and a nurse stood by as she saw that Bethany Ford already had a handle on the situation. She checked his vitals just to be sure and the man was back to resting comfortably with no visible damage.

"What did you do to him?"

"Jasmine and lavender oil; I passed it under his nose and he relaxed. It was our mother's favorite scents," Parker lied as Bethany.

"Good idea. I love aromatherapy myself. I'm more into the candles though. The oils irritate my skin. Unfortunately, it's very sensitive to certain things."

"How much longer will he have to be here?"

"Just a couple more hours or at least until he fully wakes up on his own."

"I'm glad they didn't have to put another tube down his throat. He was just getting over the last one."

"Be back to check on him in a bit. I have to go update Dr. Milton that he's waking up."

"I'll be here, waiting for him to wake up," she said as she looked at Eliot's sleeping form.

* * *

Eliot had been in the middle of a bad dream of the things he'd done for Moreau and then he was fighting some kind of projection of Moreau. All of a sudden, he began to smell lavender and… A few heartbeats passed before he had recognized the, 'distinctive,' scent of cestrum nocturnum otherwise known as night blooming jasmine. He remembered that Parker smelled like jasmine. Parker was there nearby… And she smelled good.

'No, her name was Bethany Ford and she's your sister,' he reminded himself in his thoughts. 'You can't think of her that way…'

Time had passed and he had no idea how much, until he opened his eyes. They focused on the clock on the wall across from the foot of his bed, high on the wall. It was already past noon and he was still a bit tired. His mouth felt a little dry like he'd been chewing on a cotton ball for the past two hours. Then something plastic tickled on his lower lip. He looked down and there was a plastic straw that led into a small mauve colored cup. He looked up and Parker's eyes urged him to drink something. Eliot took a sip to discover that it was cold and wet. She had gotten him some water and then she'd put it on a small table next to her chair. Now was the time…

"Hey," was the only thing he could think of to say to her and a few nervous heartbeats later… "Thanks."

* * *

Parker was so surprised that her eyes nearly burst out of her head. She was almost so sure she hadn't heard what he'd said. It had been so soft but it had tickled her ears. The prickly feeling of tears as they began to form in the ducts of her eyes but she didn't care; the tears fell as she responded to his great effort.

"Hey Sparky," she softly spoke through the waterworks flowing down her cheeks from her beautiful eyes.

She desperately wanted to give him a hug but Sophie had told her to stay away and she didn't want to make Eliot mad at her for following through with the action. So instead she pinched her right hand on the flesh between her thumb and index finger. Then she looked down for a moment to control her out of control feelings and started rubbing on the rose quartz in her bracelet. Parker thought the others should know that he was awake…

* * *

Shit, he hadn't planned on making her weep. He felt like such a heel, but wasn't there more than one kind of way to shed tears? There were sad, depressive tears, and there were joyful, celebratory happy tears. Surely Parker had to be shedding the latter of the two. She looked like she was about to run…

"Stay…" he gently whispered.

The hitter didn't want to make her flee from his presence like a horse trying to escape a barn on fire. His voice still didn't have the power behind it that practice would have brought him but it would come in time. God, she was beautiful with a single blond braid cascaded down her left shoulder and a small white headband with a tiny white bow spread across her crown completed the look. She didn't have a stitch of make up on and she still looked good; even more so with his CASH shirt on. There was so much to say to Parker, but there was no need to rush it from his lips to her ears. Eliot started out simple…

"Sorry for gettin' mad at you before…"

Parker just nodded her head that she accepted his apology as she bit the inside of her lip. Eliot worried that he was losing her to two months of pent up emotion and he didn't know how to comfort her since he was all tethered to wires and intravenous hoses. He knew it would be worth the risk if he did try to some degree to comfort her but that wouldn't help him get any closer to accomplishing the mission's objective; which was to get out of the hospital as soon as he possibly could.

"Are you in pain," she asked so low he wasn't sure if he heard her.

She hadn't looked up at him when she asked her question either. If he looked hard enough he could swear he could see her shaking.

"No," he lied; his body hurt from head to toe but the pain could be managed if he concentrated hard enough.

* * *

"Gotta go tell the others you're awake, I'll be back," she spoke quickly as she grabbed her bag off of the back of the chair.

Parker had to leave or she couldn't breathe. She had to get to some fresh air so she could breathe since she felt like she was trapped in a duct so small she couldn't take a deep breath. She heard Dr. Milton call out Bethany's name because he wanted to talk to her, but she kept going at the fast pace her feet led her on. She went right out of the PACU into the waiting room and collapsed into a chair to the grifter's right. Then abruptly she felt a pair of arms go around her and they pulled her close, right into her friend's chest as she wept almost inconsolably. She felt Sophie's left hand cradle the side of her head as her other arm held her tightly to her frame.

* * *

Sophie didn't know what to think… Something bad had happened or Parker wouldn't be so upset. She looked at Nate with worry lines gathering on her forehead and in the corners of her eyes. Seeing the thief so upset it almost made her want to weep herself. Nate looked back at her like a deer in headlights since it was obvious he had no clue what to do. She knew he wasn't really the nurturing type after he'd lost his son. He moved from his chair, knelt in front of Parker, patted her knee a few times before he stood, and walked off in the direction of the PACU double doors. After Bethany had gone in to see her brother, Dr. Milton had come out to fill in their aunt and uncle. He'd informed them that he'd gotten rid of some scar tissue, everything went well, and as soon as he woke up they would evaluate whether he was ready to move to the surgical intermediate care unit or the SICU. Once Bethany came out then Uncle Pat or Aunt Ophelia could go in one at a time. While Parker wept, Sophie began to slowly rock back and forth with the thief in her arms. It was odd how from time to time she felt like Parker's stand in mother, the older sister she never had, life coach, friendly confidant, and definitely her partner in crime. When the thief began to settle down, Sophie decided it was time to pry and find out what happened.

"Love, you must tell me, what happened?"

"He spoke…" It was simple and to the point… Eliot spoke to Parker.

"That's wonderful, sweetie. So wonderful, but what has you so upset, my dear?"

"It's nothing really," Sophie cupped Parker's face in her hands.

"I think it's a pretty big something if you're getting all upset all over my clothing…"

"Sorry. I'm not upset. I'm happy."

"Why do I feel that's not the whole truth?"

"I dunno. I am; I really am happy. He's awake and he can talk…"

Sophie was good at her job and she could read through the lines and the look on Parker's face. She was worried about something…

"You're worried he won't want to cohabitate with you at the farm. Am I close?"

"Not really. He's gonna want to live there when he sees it. Gonna have the man cave completed by the time he checks out of here. Considering unveiling it for Christmas…"

"Then, what is it?"


	36. Chapter 36

**A/N - More awesomeness!**

**We're gonna get Eliot Muse out of the hospital soon I think. But he needs more reviews to gain more energy...**

**I hope you all enjoy your weekend!**

**WARNING: Language... And TISSUES!**

**TTFN!**

* * *

"I fucked it up again with Parker, didn't I?" Eliot said as Nate's backside slid into the resin and fiberglass chair.

Nate's eyebrow arched a bit in surprise. He was good at putting puzzles together and he'd guessed that's what might have gotten to Parker… Eliot could talk.

"You might say that but I wouldn't certify that until Sophie gets to the heart of the matter," the brains of the team crossed his arms across his chest as he leaned back into the seat.

He noticed that Eliot was holding up a pink and white oval shaped stone and he was staring at it as he held it between his thumb and index fingers on his left hand. Then he let it fall into the palm of his hand and then he watched as the hitter then closed his fingers tightly around it; not in anger, but as if he held it dear.

"How much longer do I have to be in here?"

"On the outside, two weeks. They'll need to monitor you since you've had a few more procedures, for infection. The stuff they have in these disease growing petri dish buildings they call hospitals these days can kill if we're all not careful enough. Then I don't see why you can't break out of this joint."

"I hear ya man, but I'm ready to go now. I just need a cane."

"No. I'm puttin' my foot down. I know what I said about disease in here, but you're going to need help. If you had both arms I'd give you a shot, but no. I'll compromise and give you this week. Once you're ready for a regular room, and I think you're ready, we'll break you out."

"And who gave you the right?"

"Because there's a thief out there that has been through hell with you almost every day since you came in here in August. Some of it your hell and some of it came from Hardison. Regardless… She deserves to see you make it out of here in one piece," Nate's voice was low and firm to get his point across; not loud enough to get him in trouble with the nurses.

Hopefully with his speech he got through to the hitter. He had a feeling that Parker couldn't take much more before she shut down, cutting off her emotions, and possibly leaving the team. And she could do it because the retrieval specialist wouldn't be able to retrieve her with his legs out of commission. Sophie alone would put him through her degree of hell for mistreating Parker. If Hardison got involved, the man couldn't show his face anywhere. And to be honest he could add his own brand of revenge as well…

* * *

"Fine. I'll stay put," Eliot relented when he thought about what happened that day things went to hell and he ended up in a hospital bed for two months.

It didn't seem like it though; it felt like five months at least. He wasn't sure what it was but it was obvious that something was helping him heal faster. He was sorry to have put Parker through so much, but a part of him still thought that it wasn't his fault because he hadn't asked her to take on his care since he'd been there. He hadn't asked any of them… But through their somewhat solid teamwork over a long time, their friendship was what made them stay. To some degree if he wanted to go there, they gave him something to live for. He owed them quite a bit when he got out of the hospital…

"I'm not trying to make you feel bad and you're not one to execute much patience, but you're going to have to take it easy… With your health and the team. I can't have you back if you're not one hundred percent."

Nate gave him the truth; some of it he didn't want to hear and other things he needed to hear. He was right; he needed to be at the top of his game and he couldn't do that if he was still on the injured list.

"I know. I don't like being down this long. Do me a favor… Do what you can to keep Parker from breaking into my apartment."

"I can't guarantee that… You know how she is."

"Yeah, I do, but I thought I'd at least try to ask anyway."

"I'll see if Sophie can talk to her."

"Thanks."

* * *

Meanwhile, Sophie was still trying to get to the heart of the issue that had Parker so upset.

"What if he won't let me touch him anymore? Now that he's awake, I mean. You know, when this in here is all over. I don't want to make him angry," and there Sophie had another glimpse of the little girl trapped inside Parker.

"Oh gingersnaps…" The grifter hugged her close. "Just take one day at a time, love. Like the old song says, you can't hurry love. You just have to wait."

Sophie waited a few minutes while she hoped Parker tried to process what she said. When Parker didn't say anything she decided to go on.

"And since when are you worried about making Eliot angry? You've been pestering him like a cheeky little sister with your poking of his bruises or stealing his favorite shirts… Or how you break into his apartment when he's not home. Yeah I know about that too darling; Nate's not the only one Eliot talks to… So, what has changed?"

"Oh that…"

"Yeah, that."

"I was just showing him how I care. Boys pull hair, hit girls, and steal things from girls they like don't they?"

"Yes, maybe if we were talking about school children here, but we're talking about two grown up adults."

* * *

'Why couldn't she see?' Parker thought. 'Why couldn't any of them see?'

"People miss the little things about those they love right, when they're gone?"

"Well, yes, I suppose they do, but what has…" Sophie left her out loud thought to hang.

"I wanted Eliot to remember me when I'm gone someday… And I thought he might miss the little ways I cared for him," fresh tear tracks replaced the ones left a bit before. "I wanted you all to remember me too and the ways I care for you all…"

"Oh Parker, darling," Sophie had tears in her eyes before she hugged her. "How could we forget probably, THE best thief the world has ever had?"

"I don't know. You would eventually. Someone younger and craftier would take my place."

"No one could take your place, love. Ever."

* * *

And then suddenly Sophie got it… She remembered the conversation they had before about Parker and the loss of her brother. He was suddenly gone and she was probably missing little things about her late sibling. The grifter's heart grew three times larger when it came to the thief.

"Sometimes I make little things disappear that you wouldn't miss so that I don't forget my family. 'Cause you are my family right?"

"Yes, God help us. We are a little bit dysfunctional I think, but we try to make it work."

"That's what a normal family does right?"

"In deed."

* * *

Then after an hour or the orderly team from the SICU came and transferred him to his new living quarters for the next week. Hardison managed to get him into a private room so that the team could still keep an eye on Eliot. Parker went home to her farm instead of going back to Eliot. Hardison hadn't texted a picture in a while and she was getting nervous about the new barn that was to become her office. Sophie offered to stay with Eliot to put her at ease considering what they'd discussed earlier. Nate had gone back to the Bridgeport to check on the business. The grifter moved into the room and took up her space in a chair a foot from the hospital bed on the left.

"Where's Parker?" He looked disappointed.

"She went home." Then Eliot frowned.

"I swear. I only apologized again for getting mad at her from before."

"Relax, it wasn't all you. She had something to take care of at home."

"So she'll be back later tonight, right? No offense."

"None taken. No, not at least for tonight, love."

"You got to talk to her… What's goin' on with her?"

"I'll have to tell you another time. I'm still trying to comprehend it myself. You know, Parker Logic."

"I'll take a rain check. Parker Logic can be tough to figure out. Some might say it can drive you to drink."

"That's not the part I'm having trouble with Eliot. What she said earlier actually kind of made sense; that's what I'm processing."

* * *

'Parker made sense? That could be interesting or be a disaster…' Eliot thought.

"That's a scary thought. What do tell did she have to say that was so enlightening?"

"Well if I explained it to you then it wouldn't be fun watching how you two behave around each other, now would it? I have to get my jollies off somewhere."

'They are all goin' to drive me insane someday…' Eliot thought, 'It'll be a bright and sunny day and BAM!'

"Dammit Sophie! Help me out here. Can't you see I'm a man down on his health?"

"Yes, yes I can see that and no I can't help," she giggled.

Eliot sighed as he gave up. It was pointless to argue with the grifter.

"Fine but don't cackle if you're not gonna lay, darlin'."

He couldn't wait to get out of the bed and get to moving a bit because that brought him one step closer to getting home where he could get real rest… Because he certainly wasn't getting it in the hospital!


	37. Chapter 37

**A/N - Hey all, here's a little bit of light-hearted banter for Money Monday, to get us a little closer to Eliot leaving the hospital!**

**Also, story correction. Beretta Spencer is Eliot's Step Sister, not Half Sister.**

**I have gone back to chapter 32 to correct that oops.**

**A/N - Parker is laughing at the speech therapist who we should all remember was called Miss Indiana Jones.**

**Enjoy your week and please REVIEW!**

**Ps. Major hot scene with Parker and Eliot is coming up... The weather is warming up here so I thought it would be fun. So the rating is going up to M next chapter!**

* * *

Since Eliot was doing so well breathing on his own, respiratory therapy signed off because he had reached their goal. He still had a bit of tenderness from the wounds to his lungs and it still hurt a little when he took a deep breath, but the point was that he could take a deep breath without the aid of a machine. So he didn't need the hyperbaric treatments anymore either. Eliot noticed that his hands were tingling again, though not as severe because he held onto the rose quartz stone. He wondered if the tingling was a side effect from the hyperbaric treatments. Someday, he was going to have to ask Parker what it all meant; the stone and the tingling in his hands, if he remembered. The rest of the day he slept off and on to help erase the effects of the anesthesia. Nate popped in from time to time to bring the two team mates meals. They got sneaky though. So the hospital wouldn't think that their patient was starving, they would dump some of Eliot's food into the containers Nate brought in and then he'd walk out with those refilled cartons. Parker didn't come back that evening as Sophie said she wouldn't.

The next morning, Parker had magically reappeared on the pull out bed from the chair. He realized that he must have been so unconscious that he hadn't heard her come in and relieve Sophie. He had been watching her for the past hour; so she must have come sometime in the middle of the night. She had been sleeping like an angel. His hands stopped tingling again… Eliot wasn't stupid; he thought that maybe there was a pattern to all the tingling in his hands. When Parker was there, the tingling stopped and when she wasn't there, the tingling started. And the further away she was the stronger the tingling got, but how was Parker involved? The rose quartz stone seemed to lessen the amount of tingling, but it didn't fully cease. However, what did the stone have to do with Parker? Then a little Filipino whirling dervish nurse named Delia came in and started raising hell. She came in and put a sheet over a padded chair. And then she started to get Mr. Lazarus Ford out of his bed like she had a God-given right to! She brought him some crutches she'd left by the door as she came in. She was bound and determined to get him up. Eliot tried to shush her but all her racket woke Parker.

Then the small woman maneuvered Eliot into the chair. He landed softly on the pillow she'd stolen off the bed and put on the chair. He was so sorry Parker had to wake up that way. Once the nurse got him up and into the chair she scurried off with a few choice words from Parker. Then a few minutes later she scurried back in with his breakfast tray. This time it wasn't so bad. There were two boxes of corn flakes and one of Froot Loops. Fortunately, the milk was still cold; the box hadn't started sweating too much yet. There were two boxes of milk and a couple packets of sugar. Then they had a half cup serving of cottage cheese and fruit cocktail plus a piece of dry toast without butter or margarine. He decided to stick this breakfast out instead of calling Nate to the rescue. At least he could share some of it with Parker. She could have the Froot Loops since she was allergic to milk. Even though it was hell getting out of bed and into the chair; he was glad that he could be out of bed for at least one meal.

* * *

Parker was shocked awake by a woman making chattering noises. She narrowed her eyelids as she sat up. Eliot was being maneuvered into a chair; how dare her! Did he say he wanted to be moved? The thief got up and got all up in the small woman's too-perky-for-that-hour-in-the-morning-face with those beautiful narrowed eyelids.

"Who are you?"

"I am Delia the nurse."

"Well, Delia the nurse, I can have you deported in the next twenty minutes if you don't scram. Got me?"

"Be right back with the meal," the nurse scurried out of the room, with her head held high like she didn't give any credence to anything the thief said, which pissed Parker off.

"That's more like it, dammit," she spoke after the nurse left as she made up the pull out bed back into a chair.

"Sorry, didn't know she was coming. I'm sorry she woke you up."

"Ugh, I'll have Hardison on her ass so fast if she's here tomorrow…"

"Calm down Bethany. She's just doing her job."

"Don't defend her. I bet she drives other people nuts…"

"And you've never driven anybody else nuts…" Eliot commented.

"Maybe, but you love me anyway. You guys sort of get my kind of crazy. At least you try the most not to change my kind of crazy."

Then the nurse came back and dropped the tray of food on the table with a clang as silverware hit the tray. And off she went… Parker was mad as hell and she got on her phone. It only took her a few minutes and she had sent a couple texts to Hardison. Within a few hours, that nurse would be facing serious charges of stealing drugs from the medication room.

* * *

"Are you gonna eat that?" Eliot watched as she pointed at the box of Froot Loops.

"Maybe… Maybe not," he teased her.

She narrowed her eyelids again and he realized that the look on her face could be dangerous, but he laughed at her. Then before she could be offended, he tossed the box into her lap as she sat in the pull out bed chair. A smile bright as the sun flashed across her face and then as quick as a hummingbird's wings it was gone as she dove into the small box. She wasn't a total pig and cereal was all over the place. No, he watched her first eat the yellow round circles; then the orange ones; then the red ones; then the purple; then the blue, and soon after the green ones. Eliot wondered if she did the same thing with M & M's and Skittles.

"Did you want to wash them down with this extra milk?"

"Nah, not enough time to take my dairy-eating pills, but you go ahead."

"Thanks."

"No problemo."

* * *

By noon, the speech therapist had come in and after she had heard Lazarus Ford speak rather clearly, she signed off on his case. At that point, Bethany scared her off because the woman was trying to get a date with her, 'brother.' Eliot rolled his eyes behind her back and almost thought he saw claws growing out of Parker's nail beds… It didn't really matter that Bethany Ford found her name so funny that she laughed as the woman left. He was kind of glad to hear Parker laugh. With all the seriousness going on all around them it was nice to hear the thief cut loose. The hitter planned to try and make her laugh more often when he got out of the vicinity of the hospital.

* * *

The next day, Thursday after lunch with Sophie, Nate, and Parker, the occupational therapist showed up. Luckily, the woman had a ring which Parker noticed right away and left her alone. She was in her early forties with mulberry colored hair, about as tall as Parker. Helena Ashwood came to help him practice moving his fingers on his fractured right arm and the toes of his fractured right leg. And then the toes on his broken left leg to make sure the nerve pathways hadn't been severed. If they had, he was going to need more therapy so that he could rebuild those pathways. Because, Lazar needed occupational therapy or he'd never be able to walk again or use his right arm. Occupational Therapy was the use of certain types of treatments to help develop, recapture, or sustain the daily living and work skills of patients with a physical, mental, or developmental condition. Since Lazar Ford had so many physical impairments, he needed some help. Eliot didn't want to admit it but he did need the help at least until he was able to leave the hospital. If he wasn't able to use his daily living skills; there was no way he'd be able to use his work skills. It was too soon to get him up on his feet though because adding weight to his healing lower extremities could cause them to heal in the wrong places.

* * *

Parker watched the two of them as the woman evaluated Lazar's range of motion with his arms. She couldn't check his legs because they still had to be in casts. The thief liked the idea of Eliot having to stay off his feet for at least a couple more months. It meant that her plans to having him be with her on the farm could actually become a reality. She had an image flash into her mind of her and Eliot trapped in the farmhouse with snow drifts covering everything on the first floor. He could be sprawled on the couch Sophie helped her pick out and she could be seated down by his feet; both sharing the roaring fire in the fireplace. It wouldn't be all that claustrophobic in the farmhouse because they could always go upstairs and get out through those windows. What would be more fun would be to open the front door and chip off some ice and melt it for drinking water. She could make a tunnel to get out that way. It reminded her of being stuck in the cave on top of that mountain. Parker smiled to herself as she remembered that Eliot had calmed her down in her moment of panic.

* * *

That Friday took them by surprise. Eliot had been in the SICU for almost a week. He remembered the deal he'd made with Nate… Just a few more days stood in his way. He had no idea that a surprise was about to blindside him; probably worse than Hardison's nuptials but not as bad as finding out how crazy Parker was when she jumped off of that high rise building during their first job. He was playing a game of Crazy Eights with Crazy Parker when a knock came on the big door. It was open and this woman stood there waiting to be allowed entry. She wore her fire engine red hair back in a pony-tail. She was about the same height as Parker, though not as skinny as the thief; but still a slim healthy weight. Parker had to be so thin to help her in her work. The woman wore a tie-dyed t-shirt her kids made for the last mother's day and a pair of bell bottom jeans plus a vintage pair of Converse High-Top sneakers. She had round shaped sunglasses a la Ozzy Osborne with a rose colored tint and a medium sized black leather purse hung from her left shoulder.

"Gee, you'll do anything to get out of letting me teach you how to surf…" She spoke as she entered the room.

Eliot couldn't see her because the curtain was pulled to block the view of the bed, but he knew that voice… What the hell was Beretta Spencer doing there? He hadn't gotten around to talking to Hardison about her yet. How did she find out he was in the hospital?

"I prefer my feet on the ground…" Eliot said as Beretta Spencer appeared from behind the curtain.

Next thing he had his arms full of his step-sister as she gave him a big hug as he sat up in bed.

"You look good."

"Wish I could say the same about you? What the hell happened? And don't worry, a nice man told me about Lazarus Ford before I came," Parker shared a look with Eliot like they could be in trouble and when he shook his head no, she shrugged her shoulders.

"What was his name?"

"Nathan I think. I heard someone named Alec in the background," Eliot visibly relaxed, but then why did his team call her?

"This is Bethany Ford… I want you to meet my step-sister, Beretta Spencer."

Parker wore a bit of a shocked look but then she settled down and Eliot relaxed that the surprise meeting was over. She shook her hand with a faked smile so that they could all get back to normal.

"You didn't answer me. What happened?"

"What did that nice man tell you?"

"Just mentioned that you'd been in a car accident, but I didn't think that was the whole story since you're undercover, Bro. All this time and I haven't heard a word from you… Two years, Mr. Hot Shot. There is so much to catch you up on it might take an eternity to get you caught up."


	38. Chapter 38

**A/N - Howdy! It's FABULOUS FUNDS FRIDAY!**

**I hope you like this chapter. I spent two rainy days in bed with Eliot and Parker Muses to get this together. **

**The next chapter will deal with some of the aftermath and then chapter 40 will have the hot stuff again. **

**Somewhere in the next 5 chapters, Eliot WILL be out of the hospital! So there's something to look forward to!**

**Enjoy and please REVIEW! You guys are fueling the awesomeness that comes out of my muses!**

* * *

"How naughty of you, Lazar," Parker piped up.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came down for work. I'm a regional training specialist for a restaurant chain. I travel the country and advise franchise businesses on how to improve their sales and in the training of their staff. I have a class here in Portland. Then I got the call about you."

"That's news. How long are you in town?" It was so good to see she was doing so well.

"My class is tomorrow, but I had planned to leave Sunday night to head back home. My husband, I swear, will go crazy with the kids if I'm not back." Eliot smirked for a second until the realization hit him.

"What? When did you get married? Good grief, when did you have kids?"

"Relax, I brought pictures," she spoke as she reached into her purse and pulled out a couple small photo albums with at least 30 sleeves per book. "We were married in April of last year. I had a 'Moon baby this past December and then I had my Irish twin baby this past September."

Eliot looked at the cute children he had yet to meet in person. He instantly felt bad that he hadn't checked in with Beretta in two years.

"Moon baby?" Parker asked, curious.

"It's a little thing my husband, Colt and I called him because he was born eight months after our honeymoon. Really a miracle baby. And then our other Irish twin baby is what they call two babies that were born within a year of each other. So, since our daughter was born in September we'll be celebrating her birthday first before his but he was born first."

"Well that's no fair…" Parker pouted.

No one really paid her much attention and Beretta continued answering Eliot's questions.

"What are their names?" He asked.

"Logan Orion Eliot Winchester was born December 7th, 2011 and Lily Belle Parker Winchester was born September 5th, 2012."

Both the hitter and thief looked at her odd, and with shock.

"What?" Beretta spoke, unsure of what she'd said wrong.

"You gave her my name?" Parker asked with a voice close to tears as she looked at the pictures of the baby girl.

"You better explain," Eliot told his step-sister calmly.

He had such a sense of pride wash over him. Even though they weren't blood, they certainly were becoming that way every day. He had to keep his eyes from letting the tears show. He was a guy and he didn't want to start bawling right in front of two women.

* * *

"Well, I got to pick my son's name and he got to choose her name. I named my son after Logan Howlett of Wolverine fame and the constellation we were sitting under when I told Colt I was pregnant. And he needed his strong uncle's name. He came a little early in December, made his mamma and daddy miss a Keith Urban concert. I wasn't due until January, but the little guy is a fighter… He's a happy and healthy kiddo. And Lily Belle was the name of his first puppy and he wanted to put Parker in there because he likes Spiderman. I had final approval and so we made it official. Although I liked Belle from Beauty and the Beast as the official explanation for adding Belle to her name instead. She was born on time and she's just perfect. I would have brought them…"

"Don't worry about it. She's too young to travel yet," Eliot cut her off.

"Maybe once you get your get out of jail card from here, maybe you can come down and see us for Thanksgiving. I'll be makin' full-court dinner with all the trimmings."

"I don't know. I might not be able to travel myself," Eliot voiced as he showed her the double casts on his legs from under the covers.

"Oh my… You did get hit badly didn't you? Or what is the real story since I know you so well?"

"I'll have to tell you later. I can't in here."

"Fine, I'm gonna hold you to it. And you know I will," she narrowed her eyes as she teased him. "Well, listen; give me a call if you can't make it down. We're still in Fort Bragg, California. And we also have Skype at the house so Colt's parents can see the kids. They live back east."

"Will do."

"There's something I need to talk to you about in private, if that's okay. Just for a few minutes and then I have to go prep for my class."

* * *

"Parker, would you excuse us for a minute? I'll be safe, promise," Eliot told her.

"'Kay, I'll go check in with the gang," even though she looked at him like she didn't really want to leave.

But instead Parker listened from the door way where she was just out of view. She thought it would have been kind of cool if someone she'd never met had a kid named after her, but maybe one day when the girl was older she could tell her how they shared the same name and that would be something that could connect them somehow. Maybe someday if all her magic worked out she could become an aunt to those two cute kids… She overheard Eliot's step-sister tell him something important about his dad… Oh! Her heart ached more for Eliot than ever before even though she held no love in her heart for Eliot's father. She had to walk away before she found herself in tears. She turned on her phone and sent a text message to the missing team members. Then they all got on a conference texting program Hardison put together for them to use if the ear buds went down during a job.

[SpiderMonkey: Guys, Eliot's in trouble. P.]

[MegaMind: Details Parker… N.]

[GriftRUs: What is it, love? S.]

[YouCan'tHackThis: Whatchu need mama? H.]

[SpiderMonkey: Well, Eliot's step-sister just told him horrible news about his dad. He's gonna need our support. P.]

[MegaMind: What kind of horrible news? N.]

[SpiderMonkey: The kind of horrible news you got Nate when we got there 2 late 2 save your dad. P.]

[YouCan'tHackThis: Shit! I'll be there tomorrow. They is putting in the windows and wiring today, so I can't make the trek. But anything I can do computer wise and I'm here. H.]

[MegaMind: Look up any articles you can on Eliot's father. I doubt his step-sister would give us details since she doesn't know us. It'll help us get a better picture of what we're looking at. N.]

[GriftRUs: He's too important to lose. He'll need us to help him through. S.]

[MegaMind: The nights will be the worst. He'll have nightmares. I speak from experience. N.]

[GriftRUs: Anything you think he might need, Parker? S.]

[SpiderMonkey: I'm not leaving him today. So, bring us food and I need another change of clothes. He doesn't know I overheard what she said. He probably expected me 2 anyway. P.]

[YouCan'tHackThis: Nate, check the screens there. The info is transferring 2 you now. Parker, give him a hug from me. H.]

[SpiderMonkey: K. Just stay there and finish the building. I'll make sure it's okay with Eliot that you can't come. P.]

[GriftRUs: I'll B there with lunch in a few minutes. S.]

[MegaMind: We'll both be there. I can look at all of this later. N.]

[SpiderMonkey: Thanks guys. P.]

* * *

Parker left the room and Eliot relaxed the bed a bit so he could sit back a little.

"Bro, I know you didn't have the best relationship with your dad from what you told me in your letters. I heard about when you came to the house. The neighbors were concerned when they saw you in the truck and they called my mom when you left just as suddenly. There's no easy way to say this…" she sighed.

"He's gone isn't he?" Eliot filled in for her.

"Yes and no. I yelled at her for not calling me sooner. I could have tracked you down somehow. When you'd come to the house, there was no one there because a few days before, your dad had a heart attack. It was a pretty strong one. My mom got him to the hospital in time so he was under treatment at the hospital with mama when you came back home. He got out of the hospital and then had a stroke at home a few weeks later. So, he's in the hospital near home there but he's in a coma and on life support. They want to pull the plug already. I made mama swear not to do anything until we got there; I couldn't believe she held off telling us for so long. She said she was panicked because of how it ended between you and your dad when you went into the service. She didn't want you two to fight again."

Eliot wasn't sure he was still breathing… It was like his life flashed before his eyes. Memories of his youth and the boy he was before the service turned him into a tough fighting machine. He remembered the day he joined that he swore to the cornfields in the middle of nowhere on the way back to his dad's house that he'd never be a victim again. No one was going to smash him under their boots again. And the military did that for him… Taught him how to stand up for himself.… He gave his step-mother a little credit. She'd stuck with his dad for all of their marriage. It suddenly hit him again, what Beretta had said… There was no way to reconcile with his dad now. Sure, he could try and make it back to Oklahoma again and try to speak his peace but it would only be one sided since his father couldn't respond in kind. Guilt started to set in that he hadn't gone back sooner and tried to make up with his dad sooner. He supposed he just wasn't ready to cross that threshold and now the gap was so wide it was like the Mariana Trench.

"After I finish this class for work, I have to go home and pack a bag to go see mama. Colt is gonna have his parents fly in to watch the kids while he comes with me. She wants me to help her plan his final services. I would have skipped work but we need any extra money we can get now that we have two kids. I told her you should be the one to take care of your dad's arrangements but she said I was his step-daughter too so I should do it. I swear El, I'll do anything you want me to; now that you can't really travel and all."

"I'm sure you'll do him proud," Eliot spoke with some emotion in his voice.


	39. Chapter 39

**A/N - Howdy folks!**

**I fell again and got a nice big scrape on my knee cap... I must be turning accident prone! I sooo feel like Parker on the Broken Wing Job...**

**A/N - I went back and made some corrections to chapters 30, 37, and 38. I have included them here...**

**Chapter 30 I changed one acre to five acre lot.**

**Chapter 37 There was an addition. ****"Nathan I think. I heard someone named Alec in the background," Eliot visibly relaxed, but then why did his team call her?**

**Chapter 38 There was an addition. ** **And the military did that for him… Taught him how to stand up for himself.**

**So please go back and re-read if you want and see if it makes more sense...**

**A/N - Wish me luck it's Bingo Day here at Dialysis! **

**Please ENJOY and please REVIEW!**

**Ps. I am having a little procedure on Friday so I might not have an update for this FABULOUS FUNDS FRIDAY. They have to remove something on my right shoulder to biopsy so I might not be able to move my arm. If I can move it, you'll still get a big update on Monday!**

* * *

Eliot knew she would do her best. His dad thought she was the golden child since he acted like he had no son. Beretta stood and hugged him as best she could with all his injuries. A few tears escaped the edges of his eyes and he wicked quickly the saltwater with some of the ace bandage on his soft cast. He hated that he wouldn't be there to help her, be her support. At that point, Eliot didn't know if he wanted to go to the funeral much less visit the gravesite after it was all said and done. He felt like he was a victim once more by his father; though this time by his step-mother keeping information from him. Dammit! He felt like he'd gained and lost a family all in one day… And Eliot knew he was going to have to bury his feelings on the matter so that his friends wouldn't see that he was going through an emotional time. Though, if he knew Parker the way he knew Parker, the team already knew his business. If he thought about it, he couldn't blame her; she was trying to make sure he was taken care of. But he was Eliot Spencer and he didn't need anyone… Or did he?

* * *

Parker didn't know how she would find him when she came back inside the room. She half expected him to be stoic and staring off into space like Nate was after the explosion that killed his father. She hoped that wasn't the case… Because that would just about kill her. She saw what Sophie went through with Nate and she didn't want Eliot to bury himself in the bottom of a bottle when he got out of the hospital. However, she recalled that she had the farm to use in her arsenal in helping Eliot get better. He was going to need time and wide open spaces to feel better; her new piece of property had it in spades. Surrounding the property were the most beautiful trees she'd ever seen. True, when you looked out any window you could see lots of farm land but the trees made it feel magical because it kept the property hidden from the road. Parker remembered the long drive from the airport. It was just perfect… And if Eliot needed more nature, Mount Hood was near. True, it would be a little over an hour to get to the Bridgeport Brew Pub, but the scenery would be relaxing. Someday their kids could have a little Hobbit hut they could play in, just inside the tree line where they could play in the trees. If she got bored, there was a possibility that she could climb a tree and then repel to test new equipment or just for fun.

Back to the situation at hand… She decided to give Eliot a few minutes on his own to give the impression that she hadn't been listening in, though she knew that he assumed she would. She did on a regular basis when they didn't think she was around. Parker was in the duct work above them of course. Out in the hall she waited for Sophie and Nate… They were coming any minute weren't they? She paced a bit outside the doorway before she decided it was just too silly to not go in there and wait with Eliot. After she finished wringing her hands for the last time, she turned and walked back the ten steps back to Eliot's room. He was sitting up with his hands clasped in his lap as he stared out the window to the left. Parker's heart ached for him because she could see that he was reliving old memories as he gazed out into space. His face looked stoic and hard. She was surprised that his eyes held no tears and any evidence of tracks down his cheeks were absent. She sighed as she took up a chair at his side that his step-sister had been occupying. It was close yet far enough away where Eliot couldn't touch her. For the longest time, Eliot didn't speak. He didn't even acknowledge that she was in the room…

* * *

Then Parker spotted Sophie and Nate as they came out of the elevator. The cavalry was coming… She stood and moved out of the seat to make room for Sophie. Then she opened up the other chair back into a bed so that she and Nate could share the seat. She helped Nate pass out the boxes of food they'd picked up from the local Denny's in town. For Eliot a turkey club sandwich and fries, Parker, stack of pancakes, Sophie, a Chinese chicken salad, and Nate purchased pastrami on a French roll sandwich. The thief watched as the grifter touched Eliot's arm like she did when she was using her talent to knock him out of his trance.

"Eliot, Eliot, Eliot," Sophie spoke lowly to progressively a little louder to get his attention; all the while she stroked his left forearm.

Eliot came out of his trance…

"Hey, when did yawl get here?"

"Just a few minutes ago, love. Eat up before it gets soggy."

"What is it?" He asked as he looked at the white Styrofoam box on his bedside table that Nate had moved over before joined Parker on the pull out bed from the chair.

"Turkey club," Nate answered.

"Thanks."

* * *

The team ate rather quietly. No one really knew how to speak about the clear elephant in the room. The grifter, mastermind, and thief knew that Eliot needed get things out in the open. The hitter wanted to keep things hidden from the grifter, mastermind, the thief, and the absent hacker. For him, it was right up there with keeping quiet about his past with Damien Moreau. No, all the years of abuse of his family and him by his father needed to be kept silent as the grave. So, sensing there was something Eliot didn't want the women to know, Nate tried to bring up other subjects. It worked for a while, at least an hour or two before he gave Sophie a look. They had worked it out between them before they came. Sophie stood and made her excuses for needing some tea. She pulled Parker up with her and said they needed to girl talk for a little bit while the tea steeped in the cup. It was then when Sophie pulled Parker up and headed out the door that Eliot got the feeling that something was about to happen… Most likely, something he wasn't going to like one bit. At least with the lady and crazy one gone, he didn't feel as much like he was an amoeba on a slide about to be examined under a microscope. However, now the mad mastermind had him in his clutches.

"What can I do for ya? Somethin' on your mind?"

"Yeah," Nate said as he took up the seat Sophie left empty. "There is. Look, I know, we know, you don't want us to get mixed up in this thing with your dad and your family… But as your substitute family we're going to be there if you need support when you don't think you do. You have my promise that you don't have to tell us anything you don't want us to know but we care, Eliot. You were there for Sophie and I when I lost… Lost my father. To be honest, it still gets to me from time to time; but I chose you guys and myself every day over the choice to be in the bottom of a bottle. It was a hard fight but I wouldn't be here without all of your support."

"Nate…" A warning…

"If you need time and space, we can give you that… But don't make me sick Parker and Alec on you when you wander too far into that void. You're too important to lose."

Eliot sighed. He was going to have to put up with them all and the situation until he could walk freely on his own again. Then he was going to disappear for a while… But the more he looked at Nate, could he really do that to Parker? Out of all of them, she would be hurt the most. They would all be disappointed some, maybe even angry, but Parker would be crushed. And then they would be really angry with him! The other part of him said, to hell with them, and to run anyway. Eliot sighed again.

"I don't want to talk about it… I need to let go, but I can't do it in here," he finally admitted.

"I know how you're feeling right now because you can't feel anything inside. You're numb… You're almost an infant that doesn't know how to feel. You have to learn what feelings are again. In a strange way, you're almost like Parker. If you need time off to go home or see family; let me know as soon as you can walk without some kind of aid, and it's yours."

"I am nothing like Parker… But thanks," at first Eliot defended, but then couldn't look him in the eye.

'Was he more like Parker than he thought? Were others seeing things that he couldn't see of himself?' He thought as he looked down at his hands in his lap.

"I'll take it. We'll get you somewhere soon. I promised a week, didn't I?"

"Something like that…"

"I'll talk to the doctor on Tuesday."

"Thanks."

* * *

Nate read between the lines through their conversation. Eliot was giving him an immense amount of trust with his past. The mastermind hadn't mentioned that he planned to fully look into and read everything he could find on Eliot and his family. It gave him the time to edit out the things the team didn't need to know or keep them from finding out anything he thought Eliot wanted kept secret. He would help the hitter keep some of his dignity.

* * *

Later on that night, Parker slept on the pull out bed at Eliot's feet, but she wasn't really sleeping. She was up and watching Eliot sleep. She had walked Nate and Sophie to the elevators, and once they were there, Nate told her to watch over the hitter because he was bound to have some nightmares over the next couple of nights, maybe even during the day as well if he took a nap. She promised to do her best and she'd text if she needed help. And then she was all alone… In the dark with Eliot asleep in his bed; the only light were the night lights under the hospital bed that weren't too bright. She lay there on the pull out bed under the thermal blanket in her pajamas with Bunny between her arms and she rubbed on the small rose quartz stones on her bracelet. She thought of how much she loved Eliot and wanted to care for him until he was fully healed; maybe even beyond his healing. An hour into her night watch, Eliot began to show signs of REM sleep, like he was seeing a mini movie on the inside of his eye lids. His legs began to move and then when his arms began to fight and he called out into the room that it wasn't his fault, Parker was up and at his feet. She began to massage the blanket over his toes to gently wake him. She whispered to him by his name. It couldn't hurt much, because the main door was closed and there weren't many nurses visiting the rooms at that hour; it was already sometime after one in the morning.

"Eliot, wake up. It's a nightmare, you're safe with Parker. You're safe with me," she whispered.

"Whoa, um, what the hell? Dammit Parker," he woke rather quickly when she realized that he felt her touching his feet and spoke rather meanly toward her.

'At least he didn't yell at her,' the thief thought

"You were having a nightmare," she simply said before she came up to his right side.

Then Parker helped pull the covers up closer to him and she actually tucked him in. She thought of giving him a kiss to his temple as well but that was a no-fly zone.

"There, snug as a bug in a rug, wrapped in security. Bunny and I am here to watch over you. Sleep tight," she softly voiced before she slipped back into the pull out bed.

She rolled over and turned her back to the bed as she hugged Bunny tight to her.

* * *

If he didn't have his head in his ass the whole scene might have been comical if it hadn't been for his nightmare. She didn't have to do what she'd done… Fortunately, when she'd pulled the covers up, she hadn't seen that he'd hidden her rose quartz stone under his sheet next to his hip. Usually, when he had a really bad dream, he'd hit the shower and he'd make it as hot as he could stand it to help him relax. Then he'd climb back into bed. He thought about asking the nurse if maybe they could see that he's able to take a shower later that day. Eliot hated the fact that he'd woken Parker up to help him get out of trouble and to put him back to bed. He had no idea that she'd already been awake and watching him. If he'd known, it probably would have made things more strained between them. His nightmare had been of his father and him working in the hardware store. A client ordered the wrong size of bolt and then tried to claim that he'd ordered it wrong. The customer was always right according to his father. Later after closing, his father took the mistake out on him. He came at Eliot with a belt as he argued with his loud voice. Eliot was then 18 and he'd had enough. He made sure that belt would never touch him again. He went home that night and packed up what he wanted from his room into a duffle bag. Eliot packed a bag for his mama as well and they left that night. The next morning, he signed up for the service. Since he was out of high school with a diploma he needed to earn a paycheck to be able to support his mama and himself.


	40. Chapter 40

**A/N - Hello to all my readers and those of you getting in on the party a little late...!**

**This chapter is part of the reason I put the M rating on this story... I hope you like it. **

**I know you're all going to think I'm EV-IL... But you'll love me anyway in the end...**

**WARNING: POSSIBLE NUDITY AHEAD!**

**ENJOY and PLEASE REVIEW!**

* * *

Later that Saturday, when Eliot woke, he was exhausted. He'd slept on his 90 minute schedule for the rest of the night. He woke himself every hour and a half so that he wouldn't have to wake up Parker to save him from the nightmares. He pressed the button and sat his bed up. He'd already missed breakfast on that schedule. Dammit! Parker was in the far corner by the window… Standing on her head; her feet were up upon the wall, straight as arrows. Then a few minutes later, she came down and stood up.

"Have you been up long?"

"No, not really," she lied. She'd been awake since dawn a little after 7:30 in the morning and it was now 9 o' clock.

"Sorry about last night."

"No worries."

A woman from housekeeping popped in with a fresh set of towels and a clean gown.

"If you feel up to it today, you can take a shower. When you leave we will change your linens," she turned and left.

"That sounds like a marvelous idea."

* * *

Parker thought about that… She'd stayed with him all those days while he was in a coma. Nobody was going to be allowed to see Eliot's unmentionable bits if she could avoid it, except the doctor maybe. He didn't have injuries there so why did they need to see anything there? When they wanted to get him cleaned up, they'd give her a bag of the no-water wipes; they were kind of like a thick baby wipe with some type of cleansing soap that didn't need water to get lather. While Eliot was in that drug induced coma she was the one who carefully washed his flesh where it wasn't covered by a cast or some kind of bandage. When she needed help, Sophie and Anisette helped to lift him a bit to one side so that she could wipe down his whole backside.

"I'll help. Now you stay there and I'll be right back," Parker told him before she rushed out the door before he could complain.

So she went over to the nurses' desk and asked for some plastic to cover over Lazar's casts on his legs and his arm. A nurse came to help her.

"Ms. Ford. I'll be in to help get him ready. I need to go get some special patches to cover his bandaging as well. Can't have those getting wet."

She went back to the room and grabbed her backpack. She disappeared into the bathroom and changed her clothes. She put on something special under her clothing just for Eliot that Sophie brought in that last change of clothing. Then she hid it with a white t-shirt and a small pair of shorts cut so short they were almost shorter than a pair of Daisy Duke's. She covered those with a pair of gray sweat pants.

"I don't need your help. I can wash myself."

"Come on, you have one hand. How will you reach your back?"

"Very carefully, I suspect. Might get me a cute nurse to help me," Eliot smirked.

"Oh no you're not, I helped you get clean before and there ain't a reason I can't now."

* * *

'What did she mean by that? Dammit, what did she do now?' He thought.

"What the hell did you mean by that, sister mine?"

"Oops, did I say that? Nothing really," Parker sheepishly replied.

"Dammit Bethany, what did you do?" The undercover name was needed, a nurse had to be nearby somewhere and they could over hear.

"While you were in the coma, I protected your unmentionables. Helped out the nurses by getting you clean and stuff so they could go get others clean. I didn't want them all comin' in your hospital room to make googley eyes at my brother's samurai sword under the sheet. Sometimes Sophie helped move you so I could get your backside. And hey, a butt's a butt, we all have one. Big deal. I wanted to keep germs from feeding and breeding on you. Don't worry; I didn't see all of you naked if that's what you're worried about."

A part of him was feeling so humiliated and embarrassed, but the other half thought it was nice of her. He was in a coma for Heaven's sake. He wasn't able to take care of himself then, but now, he could use his hands very carefully. He could at least give it a shot anyway.

"Dammit, thanks sooo much for the mental image of germs feeding and breeding on me."

"No problem. I even got to wear those silly purple gloves they wear to handle body parts on that doctor's show, you know the one, where the guy came from the Emerald City and tried to help Dorothy's friends. I helped you while you were asleep, I don't see why I can't help you now while you're awake. "

Shit! How was he going to explain this to her? And dammit if he didn't owe Sophie as well for helping her. This simple task of wanting to take a shower on his own was turning into a nightmare. It totally blew his mind that Parker and possibly Sophie as well had seen him naked while he was asleep. But it wasn't the kind of naked where they were doing it to get their rocks off, no, no, they helped to keep him hygienically sound. And since when did Dr. Oz become the Wizard of Oz?

"How about I do it myself and I'll let you scrub my back before I rinse? Would that be satisfactory?"

"Nope, I'm gonna help and that's final, Sparky… Now come on and get in this chariot so I can take you to get cleaned up."

Eliot knew there was no fighting with her when she gave him that face… The one she had on her right then looked like she meant business. He really had no choice but to go along with her because he still had injuries; if he didn't he'd put her in her place. He sighed as he tossed back the covers. He disconnected the heart monitor and all the wires from his body before he threw his legs up and over the bed rail. Parker came close to the bed with the chair and put on the breaks. She ripped the top sheet off the bed from the blanket and then draped it over the back of the wheelchair for Eliot to sit in. That way the chair wouldn't be so cold. While she did that, Eliot hid the rose quartz stone inside a little compartment in his bedside table. He stood carefully, turned just a bit, and kind of flopped into the large chair. Hell, two people could have fit on that chair. He pulled the stops back to release the brakes on the wheels.

* * *

"Welcome to Parker Air, attention all passengers, please keep all hands and arms inside the vehicle at all times, and please, no flash photography. Have a good day."

The thief put the pile of towels and the clean gown on his lap before she wheeled him out to the nurses' station. The nurse Parker saw earlier came with a roll of plastic wrap and a few patches to go over his bandaging. Once she wrapped up his casts and bound them with tape, she gave the other patches to Lazar. Then she wheeled him down the hall and around the corner, on down, and around one more corner to the patient shower. Eliot reached for the door and opened it. Parker pushed him inside to a chair made out of PVC Pipe, zip ties, and orange construction mesh. It looked like an adult high chair. The patient put the brakes on and put his towels and fresh gown on the bench nearby. Just before the thief was about to close and lock the door, the nurse named Karen that helped wrap Lazar's casts brought a little baggie of a couple of those two in one shampoos with conditioners, one facial, and one body soap bar. Once the door was secure, Parker put a hand towel down on the orange construction mesh to protect Eliot's rear. Then she helped him stand and then he went the rest of the way on his own. The chair wasn't that bad on the comfortable scale. He was facing the shower curtain for a few minutes and when he saw Parker again; his eyes practically came out of his head…

* * *

Parker stripped off her sweats and pulled up her white t-shirt to tie a knot in it right at the top of her ribcage. She pulled out her hair tie and split her hair in two bundles. Then she pulled another hair tie out of her pocket to bind the opposite bundle of hair. Then she grabbed the baggie the nurse brought, a wash cloth, the patches, and a hand towel.

"Now, let's get you ready."

Eliot stared at her strangely as she went to unbutton the top of his gown, down to his waist. She opened up a patch and covered the stitching that held his chest together. Then she put patches over the gauze pads covering the recent holes where the drainage ports were removed. She gently removed those gooey patches the wires were connected for the nurses to keep an eye on his heart. Then she took the hand towel and tucked it in over his lap to protect his modesty… With her eyes closed. After that, then she removed his old dirty gown and tossed it to the floor. Parker turned on the water and got it set to the right warm temperature. Eliot held back the curtain and she wheeled him into the shower stall. She didn't wheel him under the warm water so that he didn't get too soaked and the patches might fall off. With the bar of body soap open; she got it wet and the small square of cloth wet before she had him lean forward so that she could scrub his back. She used big swiping movements, crisscrossing his muscular back. She marveled over how those muscles were almost atrophied because he hadn't gotten to move all that much. The physical therapy didn't move anything more than his legs at that point. The upper body would come back later when his right arm finally healed.

Parker finished his back and then got the wash cloth a little more ready before she moved on. Then she carefully washed his shoulders and down to his chest; to the places that didn't have patches covering wounds. She had to help him to try to relax and to keep his wounds dry because nothing would be worse than getting an infection so close to Eliot's release. She washed his left arm and then his neck front and back before she dropped the wash rag over the hand hold on the wall. Parker brought down the hand held shower head down and she brought it to Eliot's skin. Somewhere deep inside her, she put love into each time she touched him and she didn't know if he could feel it, but her heart was in the right place. She made sure the suds were rinsed away before she rinsed out the wash cloth of the dead skin cells and dirt. Then just to make him squirm a little she put more body soap on the small square piece of scrubbing linen before she hung the water supply back up. Parker came around to his front… And knelt down in front of him before she began to clean his upper thighs as best she could. She noticed that the hand towel over his unmentionables started to rise… The thief smiled and then moved to the other leg. She wasn't really trying to tease him so much that his samurai sword would start to move from its hiding place.

"Parker, that's enough. I can take it from here," he said as he tried to grab for the wash cloth.

"Ah, ah, ah," she teased. I'm almost done, so just hang onto that towel, Sparky."

* * *

'OH DAMMIT PARKER! What does she have in mind now? She's killin' me with that wet t-shirt with the red country check patterned bikini top underneath. She looked 'bout as country as a woman could get, and the way she's been washing my skin… DAMMIT!' He thought as he tried to regain control over his flesh.

Eliot didn't know how much more he could stand watching her move around him in wet clothing so skimpy that she looked as if she was going to bust a string somewhere and it would all fall out. Satan was really getting a kick out of tempting him with the beauty that was Parker. He had planned to steal the wash rag from her but she had him so relaxed that he was like jelly in her hands. From somewhere down deep, he knew this shower visit wasn't going to end well if she stayed any longer than necessary.

"Now Sparky; just lean your head back against my chest."

Reluctantly he acquiesced to her request and leaned his head back; her chest was just the right kind of pillowy. Then he felt the warm wash cloth with the facial soap on it go over his face, scrubbing and cleaning every little nook, and around the hair line; behind his ears to get it all clean. Then she rinsed…


	41. Chapter 41

**A/N - Here's the good stuff you've been waiting for... ENJOY the imagery! **

**A/N - Because of the fall last Friday, my elbow on the left is killing me and the happy-I-feel-nothing-pills are at home. **

**So that means there's going to be a little delay in chapter 42. I got a page and a half done with a page and a half to go. I just couldn't get it done today at dialysis.**

**A/N - I may have to send my computer in to the computer hospital soon to get whatever is slowing my computer down surgically removed by a trained professional. I've already had to feed Hardison Muse a case of gummy frogs and orange soda to apologize because I didn't see him first.**

**When this event happens, I will have to take a break for a few days and write long hand, old school style. It will give you guys a breather as well...**

**A/N - I went back and changed three years back to two years in chapter 38. **

**A/N - Yes, Tizzy is actually a word in the dictionary... Look it up for your educational lesson today and you'll be all set. :)**

**WARNING: MORE ADULT SITUATIONS AHEAD... And there is a TISSUE WARNING as well!**

**Ps. ****They took out a decent sized chunk and I got lots of stitches inside and out. I go back next Friday to get them out. And at that time we'll be going over the results as well. **

**Please ENJOY the reading and your weekend. Please remember to REVIEW! Eliot is getting out of the hospital faster!**

* * *

Parker rinsed out the wash rag and wrung it out before she folded it in half, and put it over his eyes.

"Hold this here," she whispered into his ear.

He did so, unsure of what she had in mind. Seconds later he felt warm water at the edge of his hair line as he rested his head against her chest. It was the perfect temperature for relaxation; not too hot and not too cold, but just above lukewarm. He felt her hands on his forehead blocking water from soaking the wash cloth. Once his hair was sufficiently wet, she began to use some of that two in one liquid on his hair. Since his hair was shorter now, just slightly resting on his shoulders, it wouldn't take much of the two in one. All of a sudden, Parker turned her fingers into instant massagers as she began to gently knead his scalp, working in the two in one slowly. Eliot thought he lost his mind from the sensations she was creating within him. She worked in small circles all over his head before she turned her fingers inward and gently began to use her fingernails on his scalp to deeply get it down in close to his hair follicles.

'So much for any control…' Eliot conceded to allow her victory.

The hand towel on his lap began to rise and moans began to be loosed because of how good it felt. He felt her stop and he worried that he'd scared her off, but then she began to rinse his hair. Parker took the hand held shower head over his head from forehead to the base of his skull in a striped pattern as her other hand moved through his hair, hunting for any last vestiges of two in one. Eliot held onto the wash cloth to catch the spray as she finished up. What he wasn't expecting… She put another round of two in one on his scalp and began the same routine.

'God, she's gonna kill me,' Eliot thought as he felt her nimble hands work in the combination of shampoo and conditioner.

Then she hit that sweet spot right behind his ears and he felt more blood rushing to places it shouldn't be in; that earned her a groan. Thankfully his hips hadn't started moving or he'd be in real trouble. Things were going downhill fast… So Eliot began to think of stupid things to erase the good feelings and reverse the polarity of the blood flow, like Nate in a dress, Hardison and Parker still together, Sterling in a tutu, or even Sophie winning an Oscar. Some of them actually wanted to make him laugh or make him jealous, but since Parker was a free agent and Hardison was newly married, he really didn't have to worry about them getting back together. He was pretty sure that Nate wouldn't try to pair Hardison with Parker much anymore, but both the hacker and the thief could be professional if they had to fake being a couple to get them through a job.

* * *

Parker smiled as she heard Eliot making those little noises; she let him go on as he made them and kept silent so that he wouldn't feel too embarrassed. She knew that he had to have a pretty good sized boner happening under the hand towel. Sophie had given her some tips late last night when she couldn't sleep. The grifter had been up anyway, making a late night snack for her and Nate, after another round of a furious game of the erotic version of Monopoly she'd found from an online adult toy store. The tips were just a few things from her bag of tricks that got Nate in a tizzy. Parker worried about the whole touching thing and Sophie gave her a temporary pass to touch Eliot if they got to go in the shower to freshen him up. The grifter knew it would be soon because Eliot was getting better to the point where he could take care of some of his own grooming; not that Parker would actually allow him to anyway… There were still hospital personnel on the other side of the door though, so they had to be somewhat discrete if they fooled around. The thief knew she wouldn't take it too far because then Eliot might get mad and then they'd be back to ignoring each other; which would be bad, very bad considering he was supposed to be going home with her out to the farm…

A thought popped into her mind and it soon found air as it floated out of her mouth as she began to massage his shoulders while she waited for the conditioner part of the two in one to soak in a bit…

"Eliot, what's your idea of heaven look like? I mean if there was one."

"Huh?" He spoke as if he were in a trance.

"What's your idea of heaven look like? If there was one."

"You don't believe in heaven?" He asked.

"I don't know. Do you? I just wanted to know what your idea of heaven looks like."

"Don't know, hadn't thought about it."

Seconds passed that turned into minutes without a word from either of them…

"I suppose I'd have a roof over my head. I'd like to have a place to grow something, but if I was in heaven I suppose I wouldn't need food, maybe. A rocking chair would be nice to watch sunsets; my guitar up against the railing on the porch; a cold beer on the table next to me… Just the sounds of animals and the wind to keep me company."

"Hmmm," Parker listened.

Every sentence he spoke rang true in her mind as she thought about the piece of property she'd just bought. Sophie wasn't the only one up last night… Hardison was as well. She sent him off a few texts to see what was left. Fall was almost over and winter would be hitting the Pacific Northwest soon. Snow and rain would be doubling its efforts to fall all over everything. Since they were pretty close to Mt. Hood, they would be getting a decent blanket of white. She hoped that Eliot would be able to get out of the hospital before they had to start using the chains on their vehicles. Because who of their friends besides her was going to carry Eliot up the ramp if the wheelchair got stuck?

* * *

'Oh damn, right there… Little deeper right there, ohhh, ohmmm,' he thought as he felt Parker massaging his shoulders.

Her hands felt so good on his flesh, it felt like they belonged there. She definitely had a kind of gift because she was working some kind of magic with those nimble fingers. Then his mind began to drift as he wondered what other gifts she had within those fingers other than for stealing things and picking locks. Dammit! He was getting hard all over again under that wet hand towel. Eliot was losing the battle and he needed something to use for defense to regain control…

"So, what's your idea of heaven look like? If there was one," Eliot queried, two could play at this game.

She was quiet as she started to wash out the two in one. It had rested in his hair long enough. He worried that maybe he shouldn't have asked. They were being intimate so it didn't seem so wrong, but this was Parker… He heard her sniffle a bit and his heart sank. Dammit! He'd made her cry… Sophie was going to kill him; make that Nate and Hardison as well. She tried to be so quiet so he couldn't hear her, but he had enhanced hearing skills and he picked up on it right away. When the thief cried, it had a, 'distinctive,' sound. And right then, the sound was like a punch in his gut.

"I'm sorry," he apologized and hoped that he was able to save the intimate mood going on in the tiled walls. "Nevermind, you don't have to answer. I shouldn't have asked."

"My brother; he'd be there… And um… And my real parents. We'd all be together. I'd get to see them again," she softly spoke above the sound of the water hitting the floor.

He knew she sniffled a few more times to keep her nose from running; her tears mixed salt water with the soapy water going down the drain. Eliot really felt bad then. Here he selfishly thought of just himself; but Parker thought about all the family she'd lost and his heart dropped a few more inches into his stomach. Shit! He'd done it again; fucked things up with Parker. For a few minutes there, he considered letting her down easy and just walking away. He wasn't her type anyway, was he? She was sort of his type… She had the body, but the crazy was a bit of a deterrent. Maybe he should find someone else for her because he kept putting his fist in his mouth when it came to being around her. She kept ending up hurt somehow or in tears; and she deserved to be happy… Happy and crazy.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"

"No, it's okay. I'm okay, I asked first. It was only fair," she cut him off right away as she finished up with rinsing out his hair. "I'm all done. Here's the body soap if you want to wash your unmentionables on your own. I'll be over by the bench behind the curtain when you're done; holler when you need help or you're done."

* * *

Parker left the shower stall and disappeared from his view; the curtain was behind him. She wasn't sure where that answer came from. It seemed so surreal that she'd answer in that way; it just came out of her mouth. She assumed her brother went to a place called heaven since he died so young, because that's what everyone told her at the funeral. All she knew was that she couldn't see him anymore. With her clothing all wet, and a little privacy, she stripped out of everything and put her dry sweat pants on. Then she stripped off everything above the waist and wrung them out. She put Eliot's discarded hospital gown on and made sure it was tied up in the back before she slipped it on over her head. Once they got back to the room, she could change into a spare top in the bag Sophie brought when Eliot found out about his father.

She wondered for a few moments if they shouldn't go right to the farm, and instead head to Oklahoma where his father was. Somewhere deep down, even though she hated his father for treating him the way he had, she was glad that the man had done what he did… Because if he hadn't, Eliot wouldn't have gone into the military, done all those bad things for Moreau, wouldn't have landed up in the team with her, and the others. She knew it was too late for him to talk to his dad now that he was in a coma and on life support, but there was still a chance that he could tell him what he needed to say; for Eliot's sake… Parker needed to get back to the room and get a text to Nate to call Beretta and have her hold them pulling the plug; that Eliot was going to be there. The unveiling of her property could wait… He needed to take care of business at home and she didn't care if she lied to get him there.

"Parker…"

"Yeah Sparky?"

"I'm turning into a prune," Parker giggled.

'Must have some shrinkage then…' she thought with some mirth.

* * *

It wasn't all as easy as Eliot thought it would be. His left hand was able to do most of the washing, where he needed to, but it would have been nice if he could have used his right hand; it was wrapped up in plastic to protect the cast from getting wet. Getting a little personal time in the shower to take care of his more carnal needs wasn't happening with Parker on the other side of the shower curtain. Dammit! He was going to have blue balls by the time he got out of the damn hospital. Soon as he was home, that porn channel Hardison endorsed was going to be on for at least a week to get some kind of relief. However, that vision of Parker in a wet white t-shirt with that country check print and short shorts had to be good for something later when he was alone… He was still a little sore where they had to hook him up to a catheter, but he hoped that would go away before he left the hospital. The woodland and rocks were fine; no signs of any lumps. Eliot was starting to feel sleepy, relaxed, and yet very hungry. Well duh, he'd missed breakfast… Lunch was needed soon.

And soon Parker was there to wheel him back out… This was going to be interesting… She had a larger towel in her hands and she began to ruff up his hair as she started to dry his hair. When she finished she gave him another hand towel to dry down there and turned her back to give him some privacy. He threw the towel at her when he was done. Then she went over the plastic covered wounds and casts to dry them. When they got back to the room, Karen was going to come in and give him fresh dressing. Parker tied a nice sized gap with the top straps of the gown and slipped it over his head. It felt good to have a clean gown… He tossed the hand towel over his, 'unmentionables,' as she called them, to the bench. Then, out of nowhere she'd produced a comb and she carefully went through his locks, getting out any rats that might have formed as she was drying his hair. Once she finished with that, Parker gathered it up and bound it with a black hair tie she stole from a liquor store nearby the hospital. They left the towels and she, 'rescued,' the soaps from the shower stall before they headed back to the room.


	42. Chapter 42

**A/N - So, did you like the plot twist or do you still think my Muses are Evil? Ooh, I just think we birthed an Evil Parker Muse and Evil Eliot Muse. They'll get to be all kinds of bad and stuff... Be naughty too...**

**A/N - Chapter 40 Spelling correction, wheelchair is one word.**

**A/N - Parker gains some insight into magic and Operation Spencer is underway...**

**I hope you ENJOY this and don't forget to REVIEW!**

* * *

They got back to the room with some strange looks at Parker, because of the gown, but the thief and the hitter didn't care. Once they got back in the room, she held the back of his gown closed to that he could stand; then he turned and climbed into bed. Parker pulled the new covers up over his lap, tucked him in a bit, and adjusted his pillow before she disappeared into the small bathroom to change clothing. Eliot couldn't remember a time when he'd felt so pampered in the past few months… Make that at least a year. The last nurse he'd dated was a year ago already. And she didn't pamper him as much then either. She just helped a bit with his bruised ribs and checked the stitches he'd had to put in himself while they were on a job. He had to do it that way to try and stem the bleeding until he could get out of the situation he was in. The gash on his shoulder was more than just a graze of a bullet, it was deep enough to bleed, but the bullet hadn't hit anything important. Now it was just a tiny scar that was barely visible. When Parker massaged over it gently, he was glad because it was still a bit tender. Dammit! He was going to owe her one hell of a favor when all of this was over…

* * *

Parker came out ready to rock and roll in another of Eliot's stolen t-shirts; this time it was his Waylon Jennings tour shirt. She was glad he didn't say a word… She could hear him sigh though as she left the room for a few minutes. A trip to the counter to get Karen and she was back. She was glad she hadn't gotten her hair very wet while she took care of Eliot, but she was glad to be out of those wet clothes. Oh! She forgot her wet clothes!

"Karen's coming. Be right back, forgot something," she announced to Eliot before she ran back to the shower with her flip flops squeaking like a duck quack from her wet feet on the plastic.

She gathered the missing clothing in time before someone stole it and wrung it all out before she went back to the room. She had it wrapped in one of the last dry hand towels. Karen was connecting up the wires to the heart monitor when she returned. Then Parker hit her cell phone and began to weave a web of deception for Eliot's benefit. If he didn't go, she knew he'd carry the guilt for the rest of his life… She had already noticed that his mood had changed to something a bit more broody; which was part of the reason she forced his hand into letting her help him with his shower. Within twenty minutes everything was set between Nate, Hardison, Sophie, and Parker. Now, execution was going to be the hard part. Nate was bringing Sophie and they were bringing a feast since Eliot missed breakfast… Parker had eaten what she could from the tray so they would get the impression he ate, but she'd let him sleep because of the night of terrible memories haunting him.

* * *

Sunday was upon them quicker than they were all ready for. Lazarus Ford was due to be released on Tuesday if the rest of the testing went off without any kind of hiccups according to some gossip that Parker had overheard early that morning when they came to check Lazar's vitals. The occupational therapist, Helena Ashwood, and the physical therapist, Jeanie Bryan came at the same time and gave Mr. Ford quite a workout of those joints just before lunch. He had some pain but both women signed off on his home care with Bethany, his sister. She had mentioned that he was going home to his apartment… He had no idea that he wasn't going anywhere near there. Eliot had some pain so Karen got him something to ease it a bit and he went out after he'd finished the last bite of what Sophie snuck in. Parker was on the watch… Since Sophie showed up and took over after lunch; the thief decided to go stretch her legs a while. Just as she stepped out into the hall, she caught sight of Beretta coming out of the elevator.

"Can I talk to you for a few minutes?" Parker said as she quickly walked up to Eliot's step-sister.

"Sure Bethany, how is he today?" The thief was glad that she called her by the undercover name.

"Good, but that's not why I need to get this out."

"Okay. What is it?"

"You got the message from our friend Nate, right?"

"Yeah, I think it's a good idea. I don't know how you'll get him on that plane though, without much kicking and screaming."

"Just to follow up, we're going to meet you at the airport on Tuesday. Then we'll all fly out, if he wants to or not. He won't know you're on the flight. We've got our rooms reserved for us plus one for you and Colt. We've also got a couple hired cars, one for you and one for us. When it's all over, we'll all fly back."

"Sounds great, though I wish it were better circumstances."

"Yeah. Then we'll come up to your place around Thanksgiving, it will just be him and me."

"You both should stay with us. We have plenty of room; Colt's parents bought us our house as a wedding present. Will you be sharing a room?"

"Oh, no. We're not… Together like that," Parker tried to hide her disappointment.

"Okay, well, I'll make sure there's space for you both."

"Thanks."

"No, thank you. I can't stay long. I've got to catch my flight home. I popped in to say hi before going home."

"Oh, he's asleep. They worked him out this morning with two therapists. He just finished lunch and they gave him something for the pain."

"Don't wake him then. I'll be able to talk to him on Tuesday when we get to Oklahoma. I've got to hit the road. My flight's in an hour."

"Have a safe trip home."

"Thanks. Thank you for watching over him. He doesn't let many people do it, but he needs it more than he'll admit."

"I know, I'm tryin' best I can. Bye-bye!" Parker said before she gave the woman a quick hug.

* * *

The last day, Monday, before the mass exodus out of Portland, Oregon to Oklahoma was a bit busy. Eliot went off for x-rays on his broken and fractured bones early that morning before breakfast. After breakfast, he was gone again to the casting room and Parker was there for every minute of it all. He received a set of brand new casts on his legs and a soft cast for his right arm. Things were healing nicely but he still needed the casts for a few more months. Eliot knew that he was in line to move to a regular room… But Dr. Milton came in and checked his wounds. He was pronounced ready to go home. However, he was keeping him one more night because the doctor was concerned that his blood level was down a little from where it should be and to make sure his wounds were strong enough to endure travel. A blood transfusion was ordered and then Lazarus Ford could be unleashed back into the world. Eliot didn't like it and was upset about it, but Nate talked him into it. He'd noticed Eliot was a little pale and tired. They hadn't seen the most recent lab tests that said that his hemoglobin level had gone down to a 9. Normal was 11 or higher. So, it was necessary.

* * *

Parker had been off with Sophie while Dr. Milton had been by. They were girl talking down in the cafeteria. Sophie bought the thief a couple boxes of cereal plus a croissant and hot tea for herself. The grifter had to work it out of Parker a little bit, but then the thief spilled the details of how Sophie's tips worked on Eliot…

"Now love, you must back off. You've given him a taste of what he could have. Don't touch him again for a while… Then he'll crave it."

"That's desire, right?"

"Yeah. Now, after he finds out what we're up to, he just might not want to be near any of us for a while… But we're not going to give him that option. Eliot will most likely be angry for a while but he'll get over it. You'll know when the time is right to get close again. Let me know when that time comes and I'll help as best I can."

"'Kay. You know, I get these tingles in my hand, like now when I'm away from him. I don't know what it's caused by, but when I get near him or touch him, they fade or go away completely."

"Hmmm, does he have them as well?"

"I don't know. Do you think when I did those rituals I did this to myself?"

"I don't know dear, do you think so?"

"Well… It's never happened before. When I did the ritual for Hardison and I, it wasn't there…"

"Yes, and we know what happened there. It's an interesting theory. Maybe it will go away in time…"

"It's odd the way it tingles when I'm away from Eliot. It gets downright painful when I go out to the piece of property I bought. Yet it goes away when I'm here and with him, you know, in the room and such."

"Could be it's telling you to stay with him…"

"That's why I think it's 'cause of the rituals I did when he got out of surgery."

"What is it that you said in the rituals then?"

"I asked to attract love… A loving relationship into my life…" Both Parker's and Sophie's eyes went wide.

"That has to be it, honey. The magic of the ritual is attracting love."

"How?"

"Well, look you and Hardison. It wasn't love with you two was it?"

"He did, I didn't."

"Yes, now look at you and Eliot…"

"Yeah, so?"

"Like attracts like, Parker."

"But opposites attract too," she narrowed her eyes at the grifter.

"There must be some love there for you on Eliot's side or the tingling would simply cease to exist."

It was like a light bulb suddenly switched on in Parker's head.

"So, you're saying, he must love me back or it wouldn't work?"

"Yes! See with Hardison, you didn't have the tingling did you?"

"No… You're right I didn't. But he loved me, I liked him a lot but it wasn't love."

"There you go. This time, you feel the love working…"

"I do." The thought blew Parker's mind. Eliot loved her back…

Then she had a sudden sense like she was having another premonition like she'd be saying I do again sometime in the future…


	43. Chapter 43

**A/N - I thought I would change it up a little with this chapter. I decided to write some of YOU into the story.**

**Yes, that's right! So some of my faithful reviewers might see their names in this chapter. If you would like your name written in, just send me a PM with your name. **

**Don't worry, I won't write you up as evil minions.**

**A/N - Eliot gains his freedom... Or does he?**

By, Tuesday, October 23rd, Lazarus Ford had his blood transfusion and a couple blood tests later and his blood level had perked up. Eliot was ready to go home to his apartment and just crash on his bed. He could deal with a wheelchair on his own. His right arm wasn't so bad now in the soft cast. He still had to take it easy though with both his legs and the soft casted arm. He was looking forward to catching up on all the recorded sports games he'd missed and getting back into his kitchen. The breakfast he was looking at was pitiful. There was an overly half of an English muffin that was hard like a hockey puck. A small mound of reconstituted yellow watery things they considered scrambled eggs, plain oats without butter or margarine and just a small tub of diet berry jelly. He decided to not even touch the coffee…

'How soon was Nate getting here with breakfast again?' He thought.

* * *

Parker sat in the corner with her small box of Froot Loops that she'd stolen from the cafeteria the day before when she went there to talk with Sophie. She felt bad for Eliot because the breakfast they brought him was inedible. She looked down at her box and she had about half left. Then she stood and handed the hitter the box.

"Wanna share?" Parker sweetly offered.

"Eat." There, just like that, he turned her down.

No, she was going to share… She reached down and put the box in his hand before she skipped off to go see if the morning paper had arrived yet. Laura at the desk gave her one. Parker smiled and turned to head back to be with Eliot when she heard the nurses talking about her and Eliot.

**_"Isn't she the cutest thing?" Laura voiced._**

**_"It's a damn shame that her and her brother are leaving today. He's so damn hot…" Patty said as she closed the chart for another patient._**

**_"I knooow. I wonder if he's single," Stella asked._**

**_"I didn't see a ring… But his sister watches over him a lot," Karen spoke._**

* * *

She went back to the room, saw that the box had been emptied, and was glad.

"Hey Sparky, I just heard you're going home today. The nurses out there are holding a funeral."

"A funeral? For what?"

"Their broken hearts, I suspect."

Parker heard Eliot huff like he didn't care and she dove into the news like a duck to water… She was looking for any museum showings or things she could steal… Or had stolen but now on display again.

* * *

Nate and Sophie arrived a few minutes later with a breakfast feast and a change of clothing for Eliot. Since he had been there when Dr. Milton had said Eliot was going home, he passed on the information on to Sophie and she went on a shopping trip to purchase him a brand new wardrobe. Her reasoning was that he was going to need clothing for their trip to Oklahoma and all his things were out at the farm. Hardison awaited them at the airport. He was there to meet Mr. and Mrs. Winchester from their commercial flight. Then Alec was to help them get processed and onto the private jet they had waiting to fly them to all to Oklahoma. Once Nate passed all the food out, Karen came in to remove the intravenous line in Eliot's hand and disconnect the heart monitoring box.

"Oh, we've got a party in here. I'll just be a minute. It's time to get you all disconnected… But first I need your John Hancock on this release form. Then you can get dressed and I'll order you a wheelchair to come and get you."

Eliot carefully signed the piece of paper and she gave him home care orders for his still healing limbs. Then Karen went to work disconnecting the wires to the heart monitoring technology and left the gooey pads behind for him to take off. As much as she would have liked to reach into her gown and take them off herself, there was his family in attendance so she couldn't take the liberty. Then she took out the intravenous line and taped a piece of cotton ball over the hole.

"Take care of yourself and have a safe trip home."

"Thanks," Eliot said when she was finished.

"What's a John Hancock and why do you need one," Parker asked out of the blue.

"It's your signature, sweetie," Sophie offered.

"Oh."

The hitter couldn't wait to get dressed but he had no choice, he had to wait because his breakfast needed to be finished first. When Nate finished his food, he excused himself, headed out to get the Suburban he rented moved to the front doors that Eliot and the others would come out of. When Eliot finished his breakfast, Sophie stood and handed him a big white shopping bag.

"What's this?"

"Your clothes, love."

"Thanks, I owe you one, darlin'."

He moved to the edge of the bed and Sophie tossed the trash of breakfast into a trash can in the small water closet. Then she came back to gather up Parker so that Eliot could have some privacy.

"What? He doesn't need privacy; I've seen it all… Well, most of it on Saturday when I helped him with his shower," Parker protested.

"Come on, I'll let you have a necklace I stole if you come with me," Sophie tried to bribe her.

"Just go already," Eliot added because he wanted to get dressed.

"Fine, I want that antique Egyptian necklace from Cleopatra."

* * *

When the two women finally left, Eliot managed to stand and pull the curtain around the bed for more privacy. He pulled out the package of brand new boxer briefs in shades of black and white, with a gray pair in between. He ripped the pack open, took out the black ones, worked them up his legs, over the casts, and up to his upper thighs. Oh it felt so good to feel cotton down there again! Then next; the jeans. Sophie bought them a size larger than they should have been but also included a belt to cinch them together around his waist. She'd bought them a size larger so that he could get them over his casts and still feel comfortable. There was a package of white tank tops that came next. It wasn't so hard to get the item on as he'd thought it would be. Fortunately, Sophie had the forethought to cut off all the sales tags on the items so they wouldn't think they were stolen. Lastly, he put on the gray two-button at the neck Henley shirt. Once that was on, he almost felt human again. Then he saw these giant socks in the bag and figured out those were to protect his protruding toes. He managed to get them on over the base of the casts to protect his flesh from the cold and since he didn't have shoes that fit over the casts, the socks would provide a barrier. When he finished, Eliot reached into the bedside table's secret compartment and pulled out the rose quartz stone that Parker had placed in his hand during his stay. He slipped it into one of his front pockets for safe keeping.

"All done, Sparky?" He heard Parker ask as she re-entered the room and he pulled back the curtain.

"Well, whatcha think?"

"I've gotta redo your hair. The ponytail is coming undone."

She didn't waste time as she marched up to him, right between his legs and reached for the black tie in his hair. Her breasts hung right in front of his forehead and he could have taken advantage of her right there in retribution for making him nearly come in the shower from all her ministrations, but no, he was a southern gentleman and he kept his hands to himself. He didn't need to get stabbed with the plastic fork left on his bedside table for getting fresh with her; so close to his leaving the hospital.

"There, all set."

"Thanks."

* * *

Someone coughed a little to catch their attention; the orderly arrived to take Lazarus Ford down to his ride.

"I'll take it from here. I want to drive my brother down to our ride."

"Fine, just return the chair to the lobby." It was against hospital policy to do such a thing, but who was going to tell on the guy?

So Parker brought the chair closer and locked the brakes for Eliot. She went to the folded up bed chair and grabbed the extra pillow off the seat. She put it in the chair as the hitter stood and tried to carefully sit down but ended up flopping down on the pillow anyway; softest landing he had in a while. Parker gathered up the rest of the clothing Sophie bought and put it back into the shopping bag, along with the free basin and free stuff he got from his stay. He also had to have that breathing contraption with him to continue to work on strengthening his lungs. Eliot had met the hospital's goal but he needed to keep up the practice a bit longer at home. As he waited, he watched Parker go around his room and check the ducts for anything she might have forgotten during her stint there as well. Then she handed him his big bag and then took control of the wheelchair.

"Welcome to Parker Air, attention all passengers, please keep all hands and arms inside the vehicle at all times, and please, no flash photography. Have a good day."

Eliot smirked in amusement as she wheeled him out of the room and into the elevator. Soon, they were on the ground floor and out of the blue she started counting down from five to one. When she hit zero, suddenly Parker began to run… They were speeding like formula one cars on a race track.

"Slow down, dammit! You're gonna get somebody hurt!" He yelled at her.

Instead, Parker just laughed.

"Dammit Parker, stop!"

* * *

When she finally did, they were finally at the Suburban. Sophie and Nate were in the front seats, so that left the back seats for Parker and himself.

"Thank you for flying Parker Air, we hope you had a pleasant flight and we hope you'll fly us again. Buh-bye now, buh-bye, and have a good day," Parker added as she set the brakes and opened the door for Eliot.

He figured she probably thought the, 'There's somethin' wrong with you,' speech was coming, but instead he kept it to himself; it was a waste of time and he was tired as it was. He just wanted to go home and sleep… Parker helped him in and then took the chair back into the lobby and left it. She climbed up and sat next to him in the back seat. The middle one had been folded back and into a bed of sorts; that way Eliot could sit in the back with his legs outstretched instead of being bent with his feet on the floor.


	44. Chapter 44

**A/N - Eliot learns he's not in Portland anymore... And he's without ruby slippers to get him home...**

**And a Step-Sister wants to kick some ass...**

**A/N - ****Some of the emotions you'll read in the next chapters are things I went through with the loss of my father. **

**The one thing in Eliot's favor is that he isn't losing his dad on his birthday...**

**ENJOY and please REVIEW! Your reviews helped get out 3 updates this week, possibly a fourth on Fabulous Funds Friday if we get more!**

* * *

Just like a baby in a car seat getting driven around town, Eliot faded off to sleep. He believed he was headed to his home because of the direction Nate was driving in. When his head hit Parker's shoulder, she just let him stay where he was. Nate had sprinkled something to knock him out in a couple of the layers of the pancakes. The liquid absorbed into his food. They hoped he wouldn't notice and he ate them anyway, supposedly the additive was tasteless and odorless. Once Eliot was asleep, Nate kept heading on towards the airport where Hardison and Mr. and Mrs. Winchester were waiting on a redirected private jet. It didn't take too long to get there. When they arrived, Alec and Nate helped to carry Eliot aboard and they buckled him into a seat. Colt and Beretta were in the back in another compartment blocked by a curtain. Sophie and Parker helped the pilot load their bags into the underbelly of the back of the plane. Then they joined the boys in the front of the plane. Parker took up a seat next to Eliot. Sophie sat across from Nate and Hardison had a chair next to a table with his computer on it. Soon they were in the air and headed off to Oklahoma.

* * *

Eliot's first conscious thought when he woke, was that he was glad to be home and in bed. He opened his eyes and realized that he wasn't at home at all. The décor was all wrong. The window in the bedroom and the bathroom were in the wrong place. Where the hell was he? He spotted the wheelchair near the side of the bed and decided to check things out for himself. The sun was up and there was Parker sitting in one of the large chairs across from the television inside an old armoire.

"Where the hell are we?"

"G'mornin' to you too, Sparky. Would you like some coffee, Mr. Grumpy-Pants?"

"Dammit Parker! Why am I not at home?" He wanted answers first.

"You want it black or with cream and sugar?" She ignored his demand.

Eliot sighed, "Black's fine."

"One black coffee coming up, it's some kind of flavored blend."

"Where are we?" He tried again, this time a little resigned.

"We're at the Quality Inn just outside of Oklahoma City."

Eliot thought he was going to bust a blood vessel. He could feel the headache forming in his forehead.

"What THE HELL are we doing HERE, Parker?"

"Here we go; one coffee for Mister Grumpy-Pants."

"Answer me, dammit," the hitter spoke just above a growl.

"Well, Beretta and I got to talkin' and we decided that you needed to come here to see your dad. We know he's in a coma and on life support, so it's not too late. You were in a coma and on life support too and I talked to you for hours on end. They say you can still hear when you're in a coma. You need to make your peace with him because I don't want you to beat yourself up with guilt if you don't go see him."

"Dammit Parker!" He objected as the words continued to sink in…

"I know you're mad at me, but I don't care. Nate, Sophie, and Hardison are here as well as Beretta and Colt. She's here to say her good-byes as well and she wants you to go with her tomorrow. We packed you a bag with some stuff and other stuff. We're all staying until after the funeral. And we won't take no for an answer, Sparky."

"None of this is any of your business; you and the others need to butt out."

"No Eliot, we won't. We don't want you to add another regret to the mile long list you have already."

* * *

Parker's heart was starting to break for him. He was putting up walls of denial; that was definitely a bad sign. She picked up her cell phone off the small glass coffee table and dialed Beretta's cell number. A couple rings later she picked up.

"I'm gonna need reinforcements down here whenever you have time."

"Be right there in a couple minutes," Beretta answered and Parker hung up.

"What was that all about? What reinforcements?"

"If you surrender now, you may have breakfast. If you don't, we're going to leave you here while we go to breakfast."

"Fine, then go eat. I don't care."

True to her word, Beretta came down and knocked on the door. Parker opened the door.

"I'm going to get something to eat. You want anything?" Parker offered.

"No thank you, Colt already brought me breakfast in bed."

"'Kay, see ya later," and Parker was off to go eat and extra breakfast for snacking later.

* * *

"What the hell is going on?"

"What's goin' on is that your friends and I care about you. You need to make your peace with your dad. You don't have to go, but I think you need to go. Come with me and say your good-byes. You have to forgive him and forgive yourself for the sake of your future, Eliot."

"I thought you could handle all this yourself? Why do I have to be here? Why do all of them need to be here? This ain't any of their business," Eliot tried to protest.

"If you don't make your peace with your father, I know your self-esteem is going to plummet, and the guilt that you didn't do anything to correct things between you when you had the chance will eat you alive. I don't want that for you."

Eliot sighed because he knew that she was right. He'd either bury his sorrows in a bottle or find a boxing club where he could get into some sparring matches to beat the crap out of someone, just for the hell of it. That could end badly if he ended up losing or he killed someone.

"Look, I know he wasn't an easy man to live with and I still wonder what my mama saw in him, but I'm glad they got together because I wouldn't have a step-brother like you to look after me. Now, come on and I'll take you to get some breakfast."

"I should change first," Eliot thought aloud as he looked down at the clothing he left the hospital with.

"Leave it; you can change when we get back. You're decent enough. There's no nekkid parts hangin' out so let's go. Breakfast is over at nine, it's 8:31 now."

"Lead on then," he said as he decided that he wouldn't mind a good breakfast to wash the memory of hospital food out of his mind.

* * *

After eating a good breakfast, Beretta took Eliot back to the suite he was sharing with Parker. Parker left him alone since she was putting the stolen food away into their mini refrigerator for later. He used a clean wash rag with one of the hotel sample bars of bath soap. He set about sink washing his armpits and around his neck. When he finished, he wheeled himself to the bed and called out for the thief to help him get his clothing ready. Eliot had her get him his clothes and then she let him be so that he could try to get dressed. He didn't do half bad with his upper half. He had to keep on the larger pair of jeans Sophie bought him because he didn't have anything that would fit over those casts. He rolled out from the bedroom with his hair a little wet and slicked back.

"The others are waiting for us at the SUV," Parker spoke with a simple kind smile on her face.

Eliot presented a sad picture… He had managed to slip a t-shirt on but it got stuck midway because he was wet. Parker tried not to stare considering that his muscular torso was bare except for the bandages and Band Aids. Without a word, the thief took the towel from his shoulders and helped him dry the ends of his hair a little more so that it wasn't dripping onto the floor. It was due to be warm that day, at least 73 degrees, but the humidity was high as well so she left it a little wet in the middle. It didn't really matter because he found his knit cap in a drawer below the television set inside the old armoire, and managed to get it on. Parker grabbed their room key and put it deep in her pocket before she turned off the television and Eliot had turned the wheel toward the door so he'd be facing the right direction. The thief pushed him to the door and he held the door open for her as she pushed him through into the hall. Soon, they were down at the carport where Beretta and Colt were in the front, Nate, Sophie, and Hardison were there in the back. Gone was the comfortable back seat… It wasn't so bad really. Parker helped Eliot get into the vehicle and buckled in before she climbed in herself. Then with the click of her seatbelt, Colt started up the engine.

* * *

Before long, they were at the hospital where his father lay in wait. Colt parked at the front doors. After Parker, Hardison got out and went to the back to get his friend's wheelchair. Parker helped him slide down off the seat and helped to get him into the chair. Beretta got out and closed the door behind her.

"I'll go in and check in with my mother and then come out for Eliot if ya'll wanna wait in the waiting room."

"Let's get this over with," Eliot grumbled.

Sophie worried about Eliot's mood and when she looked at Parker, the same worry was there as well… Hardison was rather wrapped up in his laptop. They all entered the building and headed for the intensive care unit or ICU. When they reached the waiting room, Nate took a seat and carried on his conversation with Colt about whom they thought was going to the Super Bowl that year. Eliot just stared out a nearby window; he didn't want to be there, it was obvious. But there was nothing he could do, because running was not an option, so he was stuck. Sophie had Parker with her and they were looking at fabric colors on Sophie's phone for doing up Parker's office in the upper part of her barn, harness testing area, and garage in one.

* * *

Beretta went to the nurses' station and asked for her step-father's room number. Her mother, Lorena, otherwise known as the stripper, Blaze, spotted her before the nurse could look up the number; so they met up in the hall. There was a quick hug between them and greetings.

"I'm here mama and I brought Eliot with me, though he did some kicking and screaming, he's here. His friends and I thought it would be good for him."

"Dear me. He's hanging on, Lord knows why. I told him it was okay to go if he wanted to, but he seems to be holding on for some stupid reason."

"It's not stupid, mother. Eliot has a right to say good-bye to his father."

"Lotza good it'll do for the both of them, one's in a coma and the other one is too stubborn," her mother sprouted sarcasm in their conversation.

"ENOUGH! I have had it with you. I suggest you go to the cafeteria and get some coffee or go home. Eliot and I are going to be here all afternoon. Now, good day, mother dearest," Beretta snapped at her mother.


	45. Chapter 45

**A/N - What a week! I got my outer stitches out and it wasn't skin cancer. But it was a thickening of the skin which comes with developing skin cancer. He called it a scar, but I have no idea what happened there to cause a scar. **

**A/N - Chapter 42 Correction in Parker's speech to Beretta...**

**We've got our rooms reserved for us plus one for you and Colt.**

**A/N - Gee, we're at chapter 45 already... I've created pages for up to chapter 60... So this thing I think is the longest fiction piece I have ever written!**

**And it's all because of your reviews and suggestions!**

**So please have a good weekend, and ENJOY this chapter and don't forget to REVIEW!**

**Love and Hugs!**

* * *

Beretta didn't care; no one was going to put down her step-brother, not even her mother. He was precious to her because he was the only sibling she'd ever had. Lorena went off in a huff and Beretta rolled her eyes. She still hadn't told her mother that she'd had kids because she didn't want her to know. Maybe when the children were older she'd tell them about their maternal grandmother… Lorena was the kind of person that would show up at your house without warning and would want to spend hours visiting, but instead she camped out on your couch, watched your television, and ignored you. Beretta didn't need that kind of stress around the kids, plus Lorena was a chain smoker… Three packs a day. She bought her supply at the closest Value!More! to her soon-to-be-late husband's house. Beretta left her purse, jacket in the room before she headed back out, and collected Eliot. Fortunately, for all of those involved in the situation, Lorena went out a different exit so she bypassed the waiting room.

* * *

Eliot hated the smell of hospitals. He really didn't want to be doing this. He wanted a beer, maybe some pizza, and a recorded game on the television at home. But instead, he had to face this nightmare head on. As he rolled by each of the small rooms he felt grateful that his injuries were simple wounds compared to those that he viewed. Soon enough, Beretta paused at the doorway to where his father lay, it gave him a chance to take a deep breath and exhale before she wheeled Eliot next to the bed. His first thought was of there being so many tubes and wires. She let him take over and he moved himself closer where he locked the brakes on the chair. Eliot stood and leaned on the bed rail for support.

"Dad, it's Beretta. I brought Eliot with me. I have a husband who loves me and two kids now. I'm sorry you won't get to see them but I'm sure you'll watch over them. I hope you're at peace wherever you are… I love you," his step-sister spoke from the other side of the bed.

He watched as she held her step-father's hand one last time and then picked up her things…

"I'll be back in a bit if you want some privacy. I've said what I wanted to say."

"I won't be long," she gave him a quick hug and walked out to sit with the others in the waiting room.

It was quiet for a while as the machines continued to beep on, keeping time to some imaginary clock. Eliot looked at his dad and tried to remember the good times they'd had together. It was hard because there weren't many. They never did things like take a summer to visit all the famous baseball fields or went hunting together, or worked on rebuilding some old car together. His father had been a workaholic and he was his job. He didn't take vacations from the store, period. In a way, the store became his mistress. He was there every day 9 to 5, come rain or shine. He'd run from family problems and be at the store instead of at home with his family. The man left his wife to teach their son what he needed to know. Poor Eliot was always trying to win his approval. When the day came that the boy had graduated high school and wanted to sign up for the service, he hadn't wanted Eliot to go because he remembered how it was when he came home from Vietnam. His son was just as stubborn as he was and they'd ended up getting in a huge fight. His mother didn't want him to go either, but she understood why. She had a small apartment in a couple of towns over when he joined and he wanted to support her decision to leave his father. So he sent her rent money as often as he could…

"I came to see you awhile back but you weren't home. Recent events made me see things differently and I wanted to see if you wanted to reopen the shop… I'm out of the service and I was just a kid back then and I made lots of mistakes… And I have thousands of regrets. I'm not sorry for what I said back then because you should have paid more attention to mama. She was so damn lonely… It killed me to leave her for the service, but I had to for her sake and my own. She needed a roof over her head."

Eliot reached for his father's hand and placed it on top of his own. It looked so frail and kind of pale; it still felt warm so the blood supply still went through it. The veins and arteries stuck out against the shrinking skin. He didn't hold on very hard because Eliot was afraid he'd break it.

"I'm sorry that you turned out this way. I'm sorry that we didn't see eye to eye to what mattered the most. I'm sorry that we didn't listen to each other and fought instead. I'm sorry that you can't give me the answers I want to hear. Now you're just a part of my past that I have to let go. I have to somehow forgive you for what you did to mom and me, but I damn sure won't forget. As for the present, I have a good job now and I help people get back on their feet… And the future? Well, that's up in the air. I hope to make it a good one whatever I do. Hell, mama's probably there waiting for you to join her so I won't keep you. So, go on dad. It's okay to go," the hitter spoke as he held his father's hand.

* * *

Eliot gave it a little squeeze and all of a sudden the beeping of the heart rate began to alarm; he was flat lining. A nurse rushed in and began checking his vital signs. Overhead, he heard the, 'Code Blue, ICU, room 416. Code Blue, ICU, room 416,' called. He let go of his dad's hand and sat back down in the chair. He released the brakes and rolled back so they could work on his relative. The hitter was concerned that they weren't starting CPR. The physician in residence came in and checked things over for himself. Then he called time of death and turned off the machines. A fire lit in Eliot and he wanted to know what the hell was going on.

"What the hell? Why aren't you doing CPR?" Eliot grabbed the doctor's coat.

"I'm sorry, who are you?"

"Family."

"I'm sorry; he has a DNR in his record. I cannot initiate resuscitation if he has one. All I can do is call the patient's time of death and turn off the machines."

There he was… His father now an empty shell, his spirit had moved on to the next life. In just those few moments, Eliot Spencer permanently became an orphan. He didn't count Lorena, his step-mother as his parent. He was now the head of the family and the last of the Spencer line. The moment was so surreal but it was happening so it wouldn't be worth it to pinch himself. He wheeled out of the room with one hand and his injured arm… All the way out to the waiting room. Beretta was being comforted by her husband. She looked up at him and Eliot nodded once that yes, he was gone. Parker came up to him and hugged him across his shoulders with her cheek pressed to the back of his head. He reached with his left hand and touched her arm to let her know that he was okay. Then Sophie came and did the same when Parker stood and moved to give Beretta another hug. Eliot kept a tight reign on his emotions; no he wasn't going to cry, especially not in front of his family or his friends otherwise known as his second family. His grieving would be done in private and alone… Hardison and Nate came and gave him the, 'manly hug,' and told him they were sorry for his loss.

* * *

Parker didn't really know why she hugged Beretta when she last saw her at the hospital. It felt like an impulsive thing to do at the moment. Had she done it because the woman was close to Eliot? She wasn't sure. This time she knew she did so because she was sorry for the step-sister's loss. She was trying to show a little empathy and that was a big step for her. She'd have to talk to Sophie about it later. Was it normal to hug people you hardly knew? Was it normal to hug relatives of people who knew friends of yours? The thief knew Eliot had to be hurting even though she saw the tough look on his face and the hardness in his jawline. So she got up, crossed the floor, wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and let her cheek rest on the back of his head. She knew he was putting on a brave front for everyone so she didn't want to say anything that would make him lose control. When he touched her forearm, she knew to let him go, but she'd worry about him for the rest of the day anyway. She hugged Beretta once more and told her that she was sorry for her loss.

"So, what happens now?" Parker asked in general, not to anyone in particular.

"Now, I have to go find my mother and give her the news," Beretta answered.

"You don't have to… I heard the call," Lorena spluttered at her daughter, the anger coming off of her in waves.

"Mama," Beretta gasped in surprise.

"I blame you, Eliot Spencer. You killed my husband," she started an attack on the poor hitter in the wheelchair.

Hardison and Nate launched themselves at her to keep her from actually attacking Eliot. Then Colt came and helped get her into a chair a few feet more away from the hitter. Parker helped by wheeling Eliot back to the nurses' station to find out what was going to happen to Franklin Spencer.

* * *

"What the hell is wrong with you? Eliot had nothing to do with his father's death," Beretta yelled at her mother.

"Oh no? He had everything to do with it. It was Eliot this and Eliot that… And if Eliot hadn't done this or hadn't done that the whole ball of wax would be perfect. His father obsessed over him constantly, hoping that he'd come back and take over the store.… Then when he decided to retire and sell the shop, he just gave up. He gave up on everything, including our marriage. I'd been considering leavin' when he suddenly got sick. And then I had to stay."

"But that's not Eliot's fault mama, you gotta know that deep down."

"He was my rock after your real daddy was killed in a car accident. Frank took me in when I was just a couple months pregnant with you. I stopped dancing then and settled down. Sure, I danced for him in private, but that wasn't all that often because he was workin' so much. Then you left and I was all by myself all day…"

"Mama, that's still not Eliot's fault. Now, I want you to go put your big girl panties on and go apologize to him," Beretta stood up to her mother, being the adult in the situation.

Sophie didn't know much about Beretta but she liked how she was trying to cool the situation between her mother and Eliot. She knew Eliot had to be feeling guilty and this woman lobbing on more to that guilt on his shoulders wasn't fair. The grifter knew he'd still take it on and continue to beat himself up over the whole damn kit and caboodle for days, weeks, months, maybe even years to come.

"I can't. Not now," Lorena whined.

"Fine… Colt, can you take my mother home, look after her while Eliot; and I take care of things here?"

"Sure baby, anything else you need?"

"Not right now, thanks," he gave her a kiss to her temple and then stood.

"Mama, I'm sending you home with Colt. I want you to rest and I'll look in on you in a bit."

The woman stood and headed off with Beretta's husband. Nate followed along to bring the Suburban back. They had to go back to the hotel to get the other rental car so that Colt could drive his mother in law home. Sophie watched Beretta as she watched them as they got on the elevator and then sprawled into the chair when they were gone.

"I don't know how I do it… Dealing with that woman can drive a person to drink, I swear…" Beretta mused as she tried to relax in the padded chair.

"I'm uh, gonna go check on Eliot," Hardison uttered before he stood to leave the room.

"This is going to be a nightmare isn't it?" Beretta asked Sophie.

"We're here to help you any way we can, dear," Sophie offered. "Are there any arrangements in place for your step-father?"

"I don't even know if he has a will. My mother didn't mention anything over the phone and I don't think Eliot knows anything either. With the way my mother is acting, I'm not sure she knows anything as well."

"I'm sure you'll work it out just fine," Sophie said as she moved from her chair to sit next to Beretta.


	46. Chapter 46

**A/N - Howdy! Sorry about the delay... I actually wrote 5 chapters over the weekend and finished Chapter 50 yesterday.**

**So today you will be getting Chapters 46, 47. Tomorrow, You'll get 48, 49 and Fabulous Funds Friday you'll get Chapter 50 for a weekend treat.**

**See, I told you your reviews were helping the story along!**

**A/N - Chapter 44 Correction - The décor was all wrong. The window in the bedroom and the bathroom were in the wrong place.**

**A/N - Eliot gets some TLC and Medusa gets put to bed... ENJOY and please REVIEW!**

* * *

About ten minutes after the nurse filled them in on the procedure, Parker helped deliver Eliot to the morgue. She could tell he was showing signs of exhaustion. She could see it in his eyes; the fire of energy inside him that usually burned like the Olympic flame was slowly dying; he needed a nap and soon. He tried to pretend that he was stoic and that nothing moved him. Parker was there with him as he identified the body and signed off on the mortuary approval to take him there to the funeral home. She then headed up with her friend to meet Nate and the others in the lobby. Beretta sat in the far back seat with Sophie and Hardison was sitting shotgun next to Nate who had the engine running. Parker helped Eliot with the foot rests so that he could stand and then helped him up into the middle seat. He buckled himself in and she soon followed. Then they were back at the hotel; she decided that it was best to just get the hitter into the wheelchair, and then into the room instead of trying something silly to make him laugh. Alec came along with them to help Parker get Eliot inside. He used the key card to let them into the suite. No one said much for fear that the hitter would either yell at them or barricade himself in the bedroom.

* * *

His father was gone… There were no more chances to undo some of the hurt they flung at each other so many years ago. No promises made to his father he'd have to keep for the rest of his life. There was a bit of shock at how fast his father passed away but then it settled into a palpable numbness all over his body. He made it through the identification, signed his name to several pages of paperwork for the hospital, and the mortuary. Legally, it should have been Lorena doing all of the necessary things he was doing now, but it was obvious to him that she wanted no part of any of it. And Eliot was a descendent of the deceased so he had to take over. What was agonizing was waiting for the mortuary to come with the transport to pick up the body. That drained him of more energy than he thought… He barely heard anything his friends and step-sister discussed; they sounded so far away. Eliot figured that they had to be talking lowly so that he wouldn't hear what was going on. Somewhere deep inside of him he thanked them for not making noise or making the situation any more stressful than it already was. The heavenly bed back at the hotel started to call his name in his mind. Somehow they went from the hospital back to the hotel and then they were at their room door; he didn't know how he got there.

Parker wheeled him into the bedroom and locked the brakes. She drew the curtains to block out the light. She gently took off his sunglasses and put them next to the lamp on the bedside table. Then she turned on the lamp before she pulled back the covers on the bed. Abruptly, she walked past him out of the room. When she came back she had a set of men's pajamas in her hand. Eliot just sat in the chair as he watched her move about the room. She stripped off his shirt and grabbed the light cotton, navy blue blouse part of the pajamas, with a burgundy stripe lining the clean cut lines of the neck, at the cuffs, and down the button row. She helped him get it on and fastened it for him. He knew he should help her, but he didn't have any fight left in him to make her let him get his clothing changed on his own. The one thing he was able to do was stand for her because he'd been able to rest some while she was a busy bee. Then she went down on her knees and stripped him of those heavy jeans. Parker grabbed the navy blue matching pants to the pajamas and they had a pair of matching burgundy stripes down the side of each leg. Sophie bought the set large enough for an obese person so the pant legs would fit over his casts. The best thing was they had an adjustable waist so Parker let him keep his boxer briefs on and she pulled the pant legs up over his hips. Soon, she had pressed the matching snappy metal part together with the matching snappy metal part and then the pants fit around his waist.

"Dance with me…" she softly spoke as she helped him put his arms up and over her shoulders.

Then she gripped onto the waistline of the pajamas and they started to rock side to side. In doing what she was up to, she had slowly turned him so that his backside was to the bed. Parker gently sat him down and picked up his casted legs to help him get the rest of the way into bed. His legs felt like lead and they were too heavy to lift on his own. Then she pulled up the covers up to his chest and tucked him in like she had in the hospital.

"I'll be right back," she whispered and then left him alone.

A few minutes later, Parker returned with a couple of white pills and a hotel coffee cup half full of water. He assumed it was something to help him relax so he sat up and took them from her. Then she handed him the cup and then the pills went on a magical mystery tour of the inside of Eliot's stomach. He lay back down to his pillow. Eliot's last awake thoughts were how Parker wasn't doing anything crazy… She was actually trying to be a normal friend to him. It was odd because it wasn't normal for her to be so quiet and reserved… He half expected her to try to do something to cheer him up. Maybe he was just too tired and she had actually tried to do something to cheer him up… And what was with her getting him to dance with her? It didn't take long for the pills to go to work. Eliot started to feel a little loopy and soon he was back to sleep.

* * *

It killed Parker to see Eliot like he was. There was nothing she could do to protect him as far as his emotional state. Sure, she could help get him changed and make sure he tried to eat something, but with him staring off into space like he had been when Hardison helped get him into the room… She didn't know how much longer she could hold things together before she broke down emotionally. Parker was thankful that Hardison had offered to help get him back to the room. She would have done it on her own, but she wouldn't ask any of them for help in taking care of him unless she absolutely needed it. Now the waiting began… Parker started feeling a little hungry so she went to the refrigerator and raided the snacks she brought back from breakfast. Eliot had taken those pills on somewhat of an empty stomach so she knew he would be out for a while. They had totally missed lunch while being at the hospital and it was getting close to dinner time. She left the bedroom door cracked just a bit so she could rush to Eliot's aid. Her cell phone started to vibrate in her pocket. It was Sophie…

[GriftRUs: How is he? S.]

[SpiderMonkey: I gave him something and he's sleeping. P.]

[GriftRUs: Have U eaten? S.]

[SpiderMonkey: I'm raiding the fridge now. P.]

[GriftRUs: We're thinking of taking the Winchesters out 2 dinner. S.]

[SpiderMonkey: U should go. P.]

[GriftRUs: Would U want 2 come with? S.]

[SpiderMonkey: No. I can't leave. Not now. P.]

[GriftRUs: I'll come check on U when we get back. S.]

[SpiderMonkey: U don't need 2. I bet U he'll sleep through dinner. I will use room service. P.]

[GriftRUs: Okay, love. Do U need anything? S.]

[SpiderMonkey: Not really, thanks. P.]

* * *

Parker spent some time on the couch that pulled out into her bed for the evening, reading the paper, and then she did the crossword with a hotel pen. When she put the last word in to the last spot down, her own sensitive hearing picked up sounds in the bedroom. She got up quickly and went to the door. He was in the throes of a bad dream and it looked like he couldn't wake himself out of it. She rushed back to her backpack and grabbed the lavender oil she had there. A couple of drops from the small vial went onto her wrist and she rubbed her wrists together. Then Parker went back into the room and held her right wrist close to his nose so that while he was panicking he'd take deep breaths and inhale the scent from her skin. It started to work and then he settled down without her having to wake him up. That was all it took and then he smiled before he rolled over into his side with his right leg resting on the bed over his left. Parker stood and left the room to let him rest. She left the door cracked open again as she went back to sprawling on the couch like a lazy cat.

* * *

The harsh words from Lorena, witnessing his father's death, authenticating the body, his own guilt, and memories of his past danced in his subconscious that made his sleep troubled. The images of his father in that hospital bed were burned into his brain, possibly for eternity. He felt like he was a fly stuck in this giant web. Lorena was the black widow spider just waiting to wrap him up in this little package and suck the life out of him. He was fighting to get free of the web, but his guilt was the glue that kept him stuck in her trap, and the spider kept moving closer and closer… Then out of the blue, he suddenly smelled the scent of lavender and faint traces of Cestrum Nocturnum or Night Blooming Jasmine again. Suddenly, he wasn't a fly any more… He was in human form again and Dreamscape Parker was back. She was there in a sunny pastel yellow sun dress looking so beautiful with her hair pulled over to one side of her head and bound with a thong; her hair billowed down and over her shoulder. Around her waist, a small white belt no bigger than an inch wide. She held out her small and delicate hand and Eliot grasped it in his larger hand. They walked off into a beautiful summery meadow with wildflowers growing in amongst tall grasses. It wasn't super-hot but there was a nice cool breeze in the air.

* * *

Beretta had a wonderful dinner and wished that it could have been a true double date with Colt, but that wasn't to be. She'd checked in with him and they decided that it was best if he stayed there with his mother in law because neither one of them trusted her to behave and not do something stupid. The couple was kind enough to drop Beretta off at her late step-father's home on their way back to the hotel. She let them go ahead and check her and Colt out of the hotel for them. They would hold onto their luggage in their rooms since they were all flying back to Portland, Oregon when everything was sorted out. Beretta came in the home she grew up in and her husband was in the living room reading a magazine on fishing. He greeted her with a kiss and then she took him to the kitchen where she had a bag of take out for her husband and a meal for Lorena as well. He took a seat as she served him the Styrofoam box from the bag.

"How's she been?"

"Sleeping, I gave her something when we got here to calm her down. I've checked on her every half hour to an hour or so."

"I can't believe she said and did what she did at the hospital, but then on the other hand I have to believe it because she did it."

Colt had a fork full of food in his mouth so she carried on the conversation for a bit.

"The trouble is; the hardest part isn't over yet. We still have to go through the reading of the will, assuming he had one…"

"And then there's the funeral," Colt spoke after swallowing another bite of lasagna.

"True. I just know she's going to make a scene."

"Let's hope not."

"From your mouth to God's ears… I'm going to take mom out for a while and go do something with her. I need you and the others to go through the house and find that will. It's the key to our next few days here. I know the mortuary will have to embalm him after twenty-four hours if we decide we want a viewing."

"That will cost you more for sure. My family did a closed casket for both of my grandparents and just simply had them buried where they wanted to be placed. A friend of mine's dad couldn't afford a burial so he just put him in a cardboard box and had him cremated. Then he just kept him in a decorative wooden box on his bookshelf. He held the memorial service at his dad's church and it was the cheapest thing he could have done. The mortuary will charge you an arm and a leg if you have the service on their property. Then we'll have to find a venue to hold the funeral or memorial service. Since you told me he served, he'll have a military funeral."

"I'll have to talk to Eliot about it. If I don't have to have my mother involved, the more the better. If I have to I'll pay her to leave town and not come back. However, we still can't do a lick of anything until we find that will."

"We'll do our best to find it…"


	47. Chapter 47

**A/N - Shit hits the fan between Beretta and Lorena. Eliot and crew come to the rescue. Couldn't you just see this coming?**

**I hope you ENJOY and please REVIEW!**

**I will see you all tomorrow with Wednesday's and Thursday's update!**

* * *

When Wednesday dawned, Eliot woke up feeling a little better. He stretched as best he could with two casts on his legs and a soft one on his right arm. He sat up and used his left arm to throw back the covers. With a great effort, he managed to get himself into the wheelchair quietly. Then he wheeled himself to the door he found partly open. The sun was rising in the morning sky and it came through the sliding glass door. The light hit Parker's hair and she looked like an angel… But then his sense of chivalry kicked him in the gut. She was the one who deserved to be sleeping on that heavenly bed in the next room, not him. She couldn't possibly be comfortable on that pull out; they all had that damn bar that hit you in the middle of your back. Eliot sat there quietly thinking about what had happened yesterday and what they still needed to do, when he looked up and she was lying awake and watching him.

"Morning Sparky," she softly spoke.

"Morning Parker."

"I'll go start up the coffee machine," she sat up in her pajamas and went to the counter over the refrigerator and did exactly that.

"You don't have to do that for me," he tried to object.

"No worries, I'm making some for both of us."

"We could just get some at breakfast."

"True, but you need some Bunny Juice to get started."

"Bunny Juice? What the hell is that?"

"You know, the Bunny Juice that keeps him banging that drum over and over…"

Eliot smirked; of course, it had to be a Parker-ism. Then suddenly, his stomach growled loudly. He almost blushed from embarrassment.

"Sounds like it's time to feed the beast, Sparky."

"I need to go use the can and get dressed first."

"Do you need help?"

"No, I can do it," he saw the disappointment in her eyes when he turned her down and then tried to cheer her up a little. "Thanks for offering."

* * *

Eliot rolled back into the bedroom and Parker just sat on the bed looking out the sliding glass door across from her. She tried not to let his declining her offer get to her, but her inner demons were telling her that it was the beginning of the end… The end of her taking care of Eliot and that thought made her sad. So she stood and started to make up the bed to get her mind off its current track. When she finished that, she got dressed. Then she remembered the bet she made with Sophie. She won, Eliot slept right through dinner. But she really didn't win anything because they didn't put anything down as a prize. Soon enough, Eliot wheeled himself out of the bedroom all dressed and ready to go. Parker grabbed the card key as he held the door open for them. Then she pushed him through and the door closed hard behind them. They went to the room in the lobby where breakfast was in full swing.

* * *

Beretta woke early that morning, in the full size bed she grew up in. She was sprawled across Colt; her left her arm and leg across his chest and over his left thigh. Colt was still asleep when she carefully disconnected herself from him to go to the bathroom. When she came out he was awake and already half dressed in the clothes he wore the day before.

"Morning baby, how'd you sleep," he asked as he sat down on the bed to put his socks back on.

"Like a lead brick sinking into the ocean."

Beretta moved about her old bedroom finding her clothing so she too could dress. Colt finished first and captured her in his arms for a good morning kiss.

"Nicholas Colton Winchester, has something gotten into you?"

Nicholas Colton Winchester was named after his dad's favorite golfer, Jack Nicklaus and his favorite football team, the Indianapolis Colts. His mother changed the spelling on the birth certificate because she was raised Catholic, thought he should be named after Saint Nicholas because he was the patron saint of children among other things. His dad relented just to keep her happy.

"It must be in the water, you know after the shower we shared last night," his forehead rested on hers. "I still hurt on my shoulder where you bit me to keep quiet."

"I'm still praying my mother didn't hear us in the shower last night. Listen, I've got to get dressed. You go on and make her something for breakfast. Then you call Eliot and his friends to help you look for the will."

"Better idea, you take her out to breakfast and we can get started sooner."

"Hmmm. I like the way you think," she gave him another good morning kiss before he let her go.

* * *

Beretta got dressed and Lorena was already up making coffee in the kitchen…

"Morning mother," she said as she entered the room.

"What are you gonna do with his stuff?"

"Well good morning to you too, Beretta. What does that mean?"

"My husband is dead. The house is mine. I don't want his stuff so, when are you gonna get it out of here?"

"Oh My God Mother!" Beretta yelled at her. "He hasn't even been dead a whole day yet and you're already trying to erase any memory of him from this house!"

Suddenly, Colt was there at her side because he'd heard yelling in the house; he told Eliot he had to go and hung up before he came back inside from the backyard where he had been calling the number Beretta had saved in her cell phone for Eliot. Beretta was shaking from so much pent up anger.

"You have no right to this house. Not until his will is read," she was seething…

"He didn't have one, not that I know of."

"We'll see about that, mother."

Beretta marched out the front door and Colt followed her. When she stopped and turned around he stopped in time before he ran into her. She crashed into him anyway and wrapped her arms around him. He held her but she didn't cry, no, it wasn't time for tears. She screamed as loud as she could into his chest to release her pent up anger. He started to rub circles on her back to calm her down. When she could breathe without hyperventilating she bent back a bit to look at her husband. He had been her rock in every crisis that ever popped up in her life.

"I don't know what's crawled up her butt and made a home in her brain. She isn't the same woman I grew up with."

"I suppose time did a lot to her."

"Somehow the old me before I met you would have made all kinds of excuses for her behavior, but the new me doesn't give a damn anymore. But then she pulls a wild hair off her ass and it's like she's trying to outdo herself with more and more shocking things to say while I'm in her presence."

"What do you want to do now? She's not going to want to go anywhere with you."

"I don't know really. She's gonna put up a fuss when Eliot and his friends get here. I don't need more stress."

"Tell you what, I'll get her to go with me and I'll take her out to breakfast. Maybe I might then take her to go get her hair done and then maybe to get a mani-pedi at another salon. And then a massage might top things off."

"I could go for some of that TLC myself, but you're right, it would keep her out of our hair as we search the house."

Colt kissed her warmly, "As you wish."

"You know I love that movie. We should play it for the kids when they get older."

"Yes, and they will think their parents are weird."

"I'd rather be weird than be like Medusa in there…" Beretta nodded her head toward the house.

* * *

Eliot was in the middle of eating his plate of breakfast and his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He fished it out and saw that the caller ID said Beretta, so he answered it.

"Sis, what's up?"

"It's Colt. My wife wanted me to call you and get you and your friends over here for a will finding party."

"Okay. We should be there in a half hour."

"I've gotta go," his brother in law uttered before he suddenly hung up.

Something was happening at the house. He needed the others to get there. Parker was looking at him as she noshed on her bowl of cereal without milk.

"What is it, Eliot," Sophie asked.

"Something's going on at my father's house. We've been invited to a will finding party."

"Ooh what should we bring? I think we should bring a shiny disco ball."

"There's somethin' wrong with you," Eliot spoke and she smiled.

"I know, but you like me anyway."

"It ain't that kind of party, mama," Hardison added.

"Is there a will?" Nate queried.

"Not that I know of. I don't think he had any more assets than the store, and he sold that."

"He'd still need one because of the house," Nate spoke as he stood to get rid of his breakfast tray.

"Regardless, we need to get to the house. My step-mother might be causing more trouble. Colt couldn't stay on the line because something was happening in the background."


	48. Chapter 48

**A/N - Eliot and the team arrive and the team has a new client...**

**A BIG thank you to SPRING RAINE... This chapter is for you!**

**ENJOY and please REVIEW! All this awesomeness comes from you all!**

* * *

The Leverage Consulting & Associates team arrived at the house Eliot grew up in not too long after Eliot said they would arrive. Beretta came out and met them at the Suburban. Hardison got out after Parker and went to the back for Eliot's wheelchair. Before long, Eliot was in the chair.

"Go around back it will be easier to get in the house that way," Eliot directed Parker.

She pushed him around back as he asked and the others followed behind them instead of going through the front door.

"My mama seems to think that the house is hers but she doesn't think there's a will. I believe there has to be one. Our mission is to find it before my husband returns with my mother," Beretta said once they were in the living room.

"Take me to the den, Parker, we can start there."

"Sophie and I can cover the master bedroom."

"Whatchu want me to do?" Hardison spoke up.

"You can check out the guest room. It's the door right across from the bathroom. I'll cover the living room and the kitchen," Beretta voiced.

* * *

So Parker delivered Eliot to the den and right to the desk in the corner.

"I'll look around and you can stay here."

"Yeah," was all he said.

She went to work looking around the room, looking for the will in books and around the fireplace for loose bricks leading to secret compartments. She moved to the pictures on the wall and checked their backs for loose corners, bulges, or false bases. No such luck. The books didn't hold any insight either. She even looked in the closet for a safe. No such luck there either.

"Parker," Eliot called to her.

"Yeah, Sparky?"

"I've got somethin' here for you to break into," he teased with his voice.

"Gimme, gimme," she said as she looked at it like it was a brand new stack of 100 dollar bills, or about the equivalent of 2,000.

It didn't take her long to pop the lock and she handed the box back to Eliot. He started rifling through the papers inside.

"Is there any money?"

"No. Looks like my dad's birth certificate and some clippings from the town paper on the store," they both looked disappointed.

"Darn, I was going to claim finder's keepers."

"Parker, hands off."

"What… I was just playin'."

* * *

Eliot went back to looking at the contents of his late father's desk when his hand rubbed across an envelope taped to the inside of the main drawer's roof. He carefully ripped it off the wood and looked at it. It was addressed to Eliot. He used the letter opener from a cup on the desktop. Inside was a key and a note. He noticed that his hands shook a little as he held the small piece of paper.

'Eliot, if you're reading this, I've passed on. This key is to a safety deposit box a little over two hours from here in Bokoshe, Oklahoma. Everything you need is in that box. Dad,' Eliot read to himself so that Parker wouldn't hear.

"What is it?" Parker asked.

"It's time to leave," he said.

So she wheeled him back out to the living room. He hollered for the others to gather in the same room. Rapidly they gathered around where they were told to be.

"Guys, I'm asking to make my step-sister a client," Eliot asked.

He asked of this for his step-sister to become the client because he didn't want to ask them to make him the one in need. Because as his reputation was, he didn't need anybody's help.

"Why's that Eliot?" Sophie wanted to know.

"Wait… Make me a client of what?" Beretta was confused.

"Because we need to keep my step-mother out of this house until the will is read."

He watched Nate consider what he was asking of them.

"We'll do it."

"Do what?"

Beretta had that look on her face that said she didn't know what was going on and if someone didn't answer her soon, she'd scream. So Eliot decided it was time she knew what he did for a living.

"Sis, I'm going to introduce you to the best of the best team I know because I work with this crazy bunch of nuts. The business is called Leverage Consulting & Associates and we help provide people with leverage when bad guys come after blue collar folks who don't have money to defend themselves. This is Nathan Ford, our mastermind," Eliot began. "Sophie Devereaux, our grifter. Alec Hardison, our hacker and resident geek."

"Hey, I resemble that remark," Hardison joked.

"And then there's Parker, the best damn thief on the planet. She's crazier than all of us put together."

"Yeah, but you like me anyway," Parker smiled.

"And what do you do, step-brother of mine?"

"I'm their retrieval specialist and the security of the team."

"And you forgot resident chef, man," Hardison added.

"That means he protects our butts but when it comes to his protection, he won't let us because he's Super-Eliot. He's faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird. It's a plane. It's Super-Eliot!"

"Dammit Parker!"

"He's a strange visitor from another planet who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. Super-Eliot can change the course of mighty rivers, bend steel with his bare hands, and who disguised as Eliot Spencer, mild mannered retrieval specialist, fights the never ending battle for Truth, Justice, and the American Way!"

By then Sophie and Beretta were laughing, Hardison smiled and Nate smirked. Eliot was turning beet red from embarrassment.

"Eliot, don't be that way, love. She's actually described you pretty well," Sophie spoke up and it sent the women into another fit of giggles.

* * *

"That's enough guys. What's the plan, Eliot?" Nate inquired as he came to the hitter's rescue.

"Road trip to Bokoshe."

"Where's that?" Parker asked.

"Here in Oklahoma, about two hours from here, three tops," Beretta answered.

"Then we should hit the road," Nate spoke. "We have to go steal an inheritance."

Reality was; the job would be simple. They just needed to falsify a death certificate for the bank so that Eliot could get access to the safety deposit box. The real death certificate wouldn't be ready for a few more days. At that point, Lorena would be able to get one and use it to her advantage. However, she didn't know of the safety deposit box in Bokoshe, Oklahoma because Franklin Spencer set it up that way. Two years before he died, Frank became suspicious of Lorena's activities and had her followed. Turned out, she had a secret lover boy in Norman, Oklahoma. So he let her get away with it without confronting her… But he damn sure went and changed his will to reflect the punishment he wished to exact on her at his death. And since she had cheated, he didn't trust her as far as he could throw her… Hence the reason for the safety deposit box in Bokoshe, Oklahoma. So, if she somehow had him killed by her own hand or someone else's, he'd have enough information to send to the police. He was a smart man… So, yes, the Leverage Consulting & Associates could take this on. It would be quick and easy…

* * *

"How much will your services cost?" Beretta needed to know.

She and Colt didn't have a surplus of money lying around to hire people in the fight against her mother. But if it was necessary, they could just max out a credit card; anything to fight her mother for Eliot.

"Don't worry about that, darlin'. I'll take care of that," Eliot spoke.

"I can't ask you to do that. This is my fight. It's time my mother grows up."

"Honey, if Eliot wants to help, you should let him help," Sophie offered. "What could it hurt? Just let us take care of everything."

"Nate's right, we should get going," Hardison had been typing away and the traffic was starting to slow in places because it was almost time for lunch.

"Colt will be back with my mother in another couple of hours, what should I do?"

"Try to relax, go and sit out by the pool, think up a dinner menu, anything that will help you to de-stress. I'll call you when we leave the bank," Eliot said to comfort his step-sister.

"Thanks. I think I'll come up with something for lunch. I can call Colt and have him pick up dinner when he gets done with taking my mother out for a spa day. We thought it would distract her for a while but I think it was so I didn't have to ring her freakin' neck. With your help, we can get this done faster…"


	49. Chapter 49

**A/N - The team takes a road trip and a brother reconnects with a step-sister... All before it all goes to hell... Again...**

**ENJOY and please REVIEW!**

**See you all on FABULOUS FUNDS FRIDAY!**

* * *

Three hours later, the team arrived in Bokoshe, Oklahoma. They decided to stop into a drive thru Subway to get sandwiches for lunch, Sophie's treat. After the one-hundred and seventy-nine mile drive they needed refreshment and fast food wasn't going to cut it; however Eliot compromised on the sandwich shop. Then they parked one block away from the bank to form a plan while they ate. Sophie was going to push Eliot into the bank in his wheelchair, because they couldn't trust Parker to keep her hands off of the other safety deposit boxes. Hardison already had the fake death certificate printed up from his mobile printer attached to his laptop. Nate got out as soon as he finished his sandwich and retrieved the wheelchair out of the back of the Suburban to bring to the side where Parker sat. She got out and then let Eliot get out and to the chair. She gave him a thumb up before Sophie walked the single block and then crossed the street when it said to walk. She backed into the bank door instead of having Eliot hold it open. Then she turned him around and the game was on. They looked busy with several lines leading to the teller windows. Eliot spotted the information desk and directed the grifter to head in that direction. When they arrived, the hitter had turned on the full load of charm.

"Hey darlin', could you direct me to the person in charge of the safety deposit boxes?"

"Sure, that looks like it was a bad accident…"

"Yes, my sex slave here, fell off my mechanical bull in the basement," Sophie joked, "And the padding wasn't in place on the floor."

Eliot started turning beet red and the young, pretty twenty-something behind the counter seemed more interested…

"Tell me, do you share him or is he a one mistress kind of slave?"

"Oh, no. I don't share my slave with anyone. Sorry."

"If you change your mind, here's my number and Mr. Marcus Schootz is right over there to the left, all the way down by that fake ficus tree."

"I'll consider it, thank you," Sophie said as she took the business card with the girl's name on it and stuck it in her small clutch.

The hitter decided to keep his opinions to himself until they were out of the bank. The others were too shocked to say anything to come over the ear buds. Sophie drove him up to the man's desk where there was one chair to the right for her to sit. Eliot locked the chair in place as the man in front of them finished typing what he was busy doing.

"May I help you?"

"I have a key to a safety deposit box that belonged to my father and I would like to claim the contents as he is now deceased."

"I'm sorry for your loss. Now let me pull up the records and we can get right to work on that. What is the number on the key?"

"Three one six and the letter C."

"Okay, that box is registered to a Mister Franklin Spencer. And I'll need to see the death certificate and some form of identification of yours."

"Here you are. I have both," Eliot handed him his faked ID and the faked death certificate.

It was faked because the address wasn't really where he lived; it was his father's house, not his place in Portland, Oregon. Hardison had seen to that before they left town just in case they ran into a situation where they needed something like that.

"Alrighty," the man said and stood to take copies of them at the copier right behind his desk.

Marcus came back and handed the card and the original of the death certificate back to Eliot.

"I have to go pull his account card. When I come back I'll have you sign a couple documents and then we can go to the box."

"Sounds good," Eliot spoke.

* * *

It didn't take long for the bank employee to return with what he needed. Apparently, Frank had put Eliot's name down on the card under the Time of Death beneficiary. However, it wasn't legal because it wasn't signed by Eliot. Frank had forged Eliot's signature from practicing off of an old piece of homework from Eliot's bedroom. It was legal enough for the bank though. Marcus had Eliot sign a form that stated that he was closing out the account his father had at the bank and another form that stated that he was claiming the contents of the safety deposit box.

"Now madam, it's the bank policy that only the box owner or beneficiary and one bank employee is allowed into our vault of boxes, so if you would like to wait here, we'll just be a few minutes."

"That's fine. I'll wait," she said in the best American accent she could fake.

Marcus then pushed Eliot over to the vault and helped him get through other code entry needed security doors before they were in the main safety deposit box area. He went to box 316 C and put in his key as well as the one Eliot had. He retrieved the box and put it on the table for the hitter to open.

"Here is a form for you to fill out so that we can make sure that all the contents recorded when it was opened are inside the box. Then just sign it at the bottom."

"Sure."

So Eliot took a deep breath and opened the box as he exhaled. There was an 8 1/2 by 11 yellow manila envelope, three video tapes, and several of his father's medals from when he was in the service, and a long narrow box he guessed contained jewelry. Then there was a small stack of letter sized envelopes held together with a light blue ribbon and another key… He filled out the paperwork and Marcus handed him a paper bag to carry his items out. Eliot didn't want to take the time to read anything while he was at the bank because of all the cameras… And Sophie was waiting. So Eliot had Marcus take him back to his desk.

"We're all finished here and again, I'm sorry for your loss."

Eliot nodded his thanks because he was on the verge of tears again, just from the sight of the medals and the rest of the items. Sophie then pushed him toward the door, then turned him backward so that she could exit backside first. When she was through then she turned the wheelchair around and they headed for the Suburban. They took their ear buds out as they waited to cross the street.

"What the hell was that about me bein' your slave?" Eliot confronted her.

"I was just having some fun, my boy. No harm done, it's not like you're ever going to see her again. And I surely won't as Nate is my love slave."

"TMI, Sophie."

"Don't blame me dah-ling, you asked."

* * *

They got back into the Suburban and Eliot texted Beretta…

[B. A. Punisher: Hey Sis, can't call. 2 many ears 2 discuss stuff. Heading back 2 hotel now. Will talk later when I have gone through it all. E.]

[MrsWBMama: Mr. W will B back in an hour with Medusa. B.]

[B. A. Punisher: Don't look her in the eyes… E.] Eliot teased.

[MrsWBMama: I already have 2 B stone 2 deal with her. Poor Mr. W is having 2 kiss up 2 her today. B.]

[B. A. Punisher: This will B over soon. Promise. E.]

[MrsWBMama: I miss my babies already. B.]

[B. A. Punisher: I miss them 2 and I haven't met them yet. E.]

[MrsWBMama: Any thoughts on Thanksgiving yet? B.]

[B. A. Punisher: I don't think so. I'm going 2 need time alone when this is done. E.]

[MrsWBMama: I C. I'll put your reservation in 4 Christmas then. B.] She was trying hard to get him to visit with this text and to force his hand; and he knew it.

[B. A. Punisher: We'll C. E.]

[MrsWBMama: Fine, then Easter it is… And U can wear the bunny suit. B.]

[B. A. Punisher: Over my dead body. E.]

[MrsWBMama: Seriously, U need 2 come C them. They grow so fast. B.]

[B. A. Punisher: Well, make 'em slow down. :) E.]

[MrsWBMama: I wish I could, but then I'd have 2 slow down my aging… And there's no clear formula 4 that yet. B.]

[B. A. Punisher: Don't get me started. This old man needs a nap already. E.]

[MrsWBMama: U? Old? Pshaw, not U. I gotta go. Roast needs to be turned over. B.]

[B. A. Punisher: You're makin' me hungry. Will talk soon. E.]

[MrsWBMama: TTFN! B.]

* * *

When they got back to the room, Eliot wheeled himself the rest of the way into the bedroom and put the paper sack on his bed.

"Parker, I'm going to look at what's in the bag alone, so feel free to go to dinner with the others if you like. I'll be fine," Eliot spoke in such a way that he hoped she wouldn't worry about him.

She seemed a bit flustered like he was rejecting her help… He worried that he might have made a mistake with her again.

"What if the hotel is under attack and I can't get back to you?"

"I'll make a spear out of the shower rod. I'll be fine. Go, have a good time." He could see she wasn't taking this new bit of news well because he saw her pouting lip start to come out.

"But I wanna stay here with you," the thief whined and stomped her right foot.

"Dammit Parker, what are you, five years old? You can put on your big girl panties on and go have dinner with the others. It won't kill you. I can handle things on my own for a little while."


	50. Chapter 50

**A/N - Don't fear, my readers... I didn't forget you all. **

**I'm sorry I didn't make it in on Friday. The spirit was willing but the flesh was weak... **

**So, here is the chapter you missed from Fabulous Funds Friday! **

**A/N - Poor Parker and Eliot... Just when things were looking up...**

**I know you're going to think I'm Evil again, but it had to be done this way for Chapter 52 to work. And what couple doesn't have their problems right?**

**I know you're gonna love it anyway...**

**ENJOY and please REVIEW! They're like Oreos for my Muses... And who doesn't like Oreos?**

* * *

Parker knew it… It was the beginning of the end of her taking care of her friend, and what was he trying to do but get rid of her for the night. Sure, she was acting childish, but wouldn't you if you were worried something might happen if you left a loved one alone while they were injured? She knew she'd never forgive herself if something happened when she wasn't there. What if he fell out of the chair? What if he fell out of bed and couldn't get up? What if he tried to take a shower without covers over the casts? What if he mixed alcohol with pain relievers and she couldn't wake him? What if there was a fire? So many things could go wrong… Why couldn't he see that? Fine… If he wanted to be alone, she'd leave him alone. So Parker grabbed her purse and quickly tried to exit before the tears began to fall.

"Parker, are you okay?" He asked in a softer tone.

"I'm fine," she said as the door slammed behind her and she didn't let him see the way she looked.

She made her way to the elevator and went all the way up to the executive suites floor just below the roof. Then she walked up the last bit of steps to the roof access door in the stairwell. She noticed that the executive suites floor didn't have security cameras. Parker hadn't had an ear bud during their visit to Bokoshe, and she had the one pair of untraceable shoes on. She picked the lock on the roof access door with her little zipped pack of tools from her purse. The upset thief went to the edge of the building after she made sure the door was locked again behind her. She stood at the ledge as she let some of all the pent up emotions out. She had kept a lot inside during Eliot's time in the hospital and Eliot telling her that he wanted to be alone for a while just triggered her emotional dam that she had built so carefully, to suddenly blow up. Now all kinds of things were flowing to the forefront. There was still so much that she had planned for Eliot and she worried that she couldn't make it come true for him now that he wanted to spend more time apart from her; hell, she was terrified none of it would work. Tears formed steady rivers as her heart began to break, but she didn't wail or loudly cry, no, it was a quiet cry. Parker had learned from a very young age how not to make a sound while she cried because it would get her foster parents mad if she made a lot of noise. She had totally forgotten that it wasn't the first time she'd left him alone, but someone was always there in her stead. This time there was no babysitter to watch him in her absence and that might also have been what got to her.

* * *

Eliot knew he was in hell again… He'd made Parker so upset with that one simple request to spend some time alone to go through what they'd practically spent the whole day retrieving. He rolled to the door and turned the small knob to lock the door. When Parker used the key to get back in it would automatically unlock the door and allow her entry. Then he rolled himself into the bedroom and closed the door, he didn't bother to lock it because he knew Parker's skills could open it within seconds. Eliot knew he'd entered hades when she said she was, 'fine.' When any woman said they were fine, any man should know that it meant that they weren't okay. When Parker said it, it was doubly worse because she could do something stupid, like jump off a building with an untested harness, or simply disappear. He'd call Sophie in half an hour and see how dinner was going with Parker. Maybe even tell her what happened… It really wasn't his fault; she just took it the wrong way. He wasn't asking for anything but a little time alone to digest what his father had put in the safety deposit box. Eliot was a man that didn't like to show weakness in front of his friends, and if he let some emotion out in the form of tears, that meant weakness. He must have been tired because he could swear that he felt his hands tingling again, and it wasn't a little tingle, no, this was more painful. He wondered if he might have developed neuropathy while in the hospital. They jostled him a bit with his surgery and then again when they had to remove his drains… Maybe a nerve got pinched just slightly so that when he moved a certain way it seized up and had contractions?

However, Eliot remembered that Parker wasn't in the room with him. Then he recalled the stone… He tried to check his pockets and it wasn't there; he tried not to panic. It had to be somewhere… Where were the clothes he wore yesterday? He couldn't find them… So he rolled to the bed, picked up the handset, and dialed the front desk.

"Front desk, this is Sean, how can I help you?"

"This is room 416; my roommate sent some clothing of mine down to be dry cleaned here on site. I had a small stone in the pocket of my jeans, has anyone found it?"

"I haven't heard of anything reported yet. I will look into the matter right now, sir."

"Thanks," he felt disappointed that he hadn't kept a better eye on it and that no one had found it yet.

Eliot turned the chair around and parked it near the end of the bed where the paper bag sat. He reached for and opened it. He pulled out the yellow manila envelope that had, 'Open Me First,' handwritten on it. Within a few seconds, he had the tabs pointed up and the packet was open. Inside, Eliot pulled out a letter sized envelope. It was addressed to him. He took a deep breath and exhaled as he unfolded the letter. It was in his father's hand.

'Eliot, Son, I know this time isn't easy for you. By now you should've seen Lorena's true colors. Inside the safety deposit box along with everything you'll need, I put a few things I thought you should have and they will be out of her clutches. Inside the long box is your grandparents' wedding ring sets, passed down through my family. I wore my father's ring and if you're wondering why the ring that was passed down to me is there… I took the heirloom ring off when I found out Lorena was cheating on me. I feared that she'd steal it off of my dead body so I wore a costume jewelry ring so she wouldn't know I wasn't wearing the real one. There is also your grandparents' wedding ring sets, passed down through your mother's family. Your mother got herself a different set which should be there as well. Someday you'll find a lucky girl and pass on the tradition. The medals are pretty self-explanatory since you were in the service. Someday, you can pass them on to my granddaughter or grandson, and share with him what they're for. If by chance you don't have kids, give them to Beretta's son or daughter and tell him what they're for. Yes, I knew about the kids. I helped her keep them a secret from Lorena. The small stack of envelopes are letters I wrote to your mama that I didn't have the courage to send her after she left me. The other key there is a key to a storage unit in Lawton, Oklahoma; about an hour and a half from my house, and I've paid for up until January of next year. You'll have to go and transfer it into your name if you want to. It's all your mama's things from the apartment and what she left behind here at the house. I'm sure you'll want to have a look,' Eliot read silently.

He picked up the tissue box and plucked a couple sheets out before he put it back on the nightstand table. He dabbed the corners of his eyes and blew his nose once before he continued reading.

'As for the tapes… The official will is registered with my lawyer here in Oklahoma City as a backup in case Lorena tries to contest the videos. And knowin' her, she'll try. His name's Jack Sheraton, of Sheraton, Pope, and Stevens. The tapes are my video will. There's the official one for you, Lorena, and Beretta. The second is a personal one to you and the other is for Beretta. It's up to you both if you want to share them with each other. If Lorena doesn't want to accept the video documentation, Jack will read her a paper copy of it all, in detail as he is the second executor of my will. I made you my first choice as executor, and as of the writing of this letter, I intended to track you down through Beretta to let you know. It's all legal now. If you choose not to be executor, Jack will take over. I have to get going, there's a customer. Dad.'

Eliot abruptly felt like he was that young boy before he'd gone off to go play war with his buddies. He opened the rectangular box that was covered in black velvet. Inside, he found the six rings; all so very cleaned and beautiful. The engagement ring from his grandmother on his father's side was a simple band of gold. The wedding ring was similar golden band with a princess cut, 0.30 carat, internally flawless diamond, His grandfather had bought it back when diamonds weren't so terribly expensive to own as they were now. Then the men's ring was also simple, just a gold ring, no design. His mother's, mother's set was different. His grandmother's ring wedding ring was made of silver with small squares of turquoise all inlaid around the band. In the center was another princess cut, 0.30 carat, internally flawless diamond in silver setting. Her engagement ring was similarly made of silver with turquoise chips in rectangular squares inlaid into the band. It was such because his grandmother was Cherokee Indian. He didn't know what percentage of Cherokee she was, but she lived on the reservation so he assumed it had to be a pretty high amount. Her original rings were lost so an old friend of hers and her husband's made her a new set. His mother's wedding ring was more modern, with five small diamonds all on each side of the main diamond setting on a band of silver. The main setting was a princess cut, 0.70 carat, internally flawless diamond. Her engagement ring was a simple band of silver with two, square sapphires and a small square diamond between them; the engagement ring matched the wedding ring well. Eliot's mother couldn't wear anything gold or gold plated because it turned her skin green. His mother's father's ring was buried with him when he passed away.

* * *

The day had turned into night as the hitter lay back on his side of the bed, trapped in a continual day dream of memories. Time seemed to slip right through Eliot's fingers and he suddenly realized that his cell phone was ringing. Caller ID told him that it was Sophie. He flipped open his phone and hit the talk button.

"What is it, Sophie?"

"Eliot dear, Nate and I were heading down to have dinner at the restaurant across the street, looks delicious. Would you and Parker want to tag along? Hardison's ordering in because he's Skyping his wife."

"Parker's not with you?"

"No, we thought she was with you, love. That's why we were calling to invite you to dinner."

"Dammit Parker!" Eliot thought about his next moves.

"Is something wrong, Eliot? Is something wrong with Parker?"

"Sorry, I was just thinkin' and I must have done it out loud."

"What's going on and I want details…"

'Shit…' Eliot thought as he felt like he was headed to the Principal's office.

"I swear; it wasn't my fault, Sophie."

"Well that's a bad way to start a conversation."

"I simply gently asked her for some time alone to go through the stuff we retrieved in Bokoshe. Then it all went to hell… She became childish, complete with the pouty lip and the stomping of her foot, and then she said the, 'F,' word. She said she was, 'fine,' as she stormed out of here. I let her go because I figured she needed to cool off. I was going to call you in a bit and see how dinner went with her, but obviously she didn't show."

"Oh Eliot…"

Eliot heard her relay the information to Nate in the background. Then she came back a minute later.

"Nate's contacted Hardison to track her. We'll have to try the restaurant another night. We'll come back to the hotel to look for her."

"I don't want to ruin your night."

"Don't worry about it dear. You're injured and Parker needs to be found. Let us be your legs, Eliot."

"Let me know if you hear anything."

"Of course."

* * *

When Nate called and put Hardison on the case of the missing Parker, things didn't look good. Alec was supposed to be chatting with his wife but he had to let her go to find one of his best friends… He started with tracing her shoes that he had put tracking devices in and they were all back in Portland, Oregon… And stationary. Then within half an hour, he managed to hack into the hotel's video security system. He checked every floor for the past five hours to be safe. Then he finally arrived at the elevator footage and found Parker on the elevator and noticed that the button was pressed for the executive suite floor. He figured that she might be headed for the roof since she had no reason to go to that floor. He called Nate back and told him of his findings. Then between the couple, they felt it was wise that Sophie should go to the roof to talk with Parker and to try and help her sort things out…


	51. Chapter 51

**A/N - I am not entirely happy with how this chapter came out but I think I will offer it up to my hungry readers and see what you think. I kind of have the feeling that it might just be up there with Great... Not so sure of it being at the Awesome level.**

**In this chapter, I have lived what Colt and Beretta have gone through with Lorena... And worse... Don't ask me how I did it, but believe I have some damn good tough skin and I'm an Aries. I'm a fighter.**

**Here is your chapter for MONEY MONDAY! **

**A/N - Sophie comes to the rescue and helps the let the sunshine in... And Eliot gets a kind of reprieve.**

* * *

Parker stayed out on that rooftop and watched the sunset as she thought about what was happening with her feelings. Maybe her getting closer to Eliot had been a mistake… Maybe she should have waited trying anything with him until after this whole mess with getting over his dad's passing. She looked at her watch and the date and wondered if maybe she had just been PMS-ing because it was getting close to the end of the month; she usually started that time of the month at the beginning of the month. Maybe that was the answer to it all… But then those nagging fears popped up again. Maybe Eliot wasn't ready for what she had planned to do with him when they got to her piece of property. What was she going to do if he kept pushing her away because he wanted to do things for himself again?

After all, wasn't the goal to get him healed so he could get out of the hospital and back on his feet? Or was it to get him to fall in love with her so she wouldn't be alone? Now, really, Parker was the only one left in the group that didn't have someone to be with. Hardison now had a wife, Nate and Sophie were bound to up and get married any day now. Eliot had his one night stands and she didn't have anyone other than a stuffed animal named Bunny. The full moon wasn't until the 29th and it was only the 24th! How was she going to make it through six more days? And then her hands were tingling again… She wasn't with Eliot and they were tingling again. She picked up one of the rose quartz beads on the bracelet on her wrist and looked at it under the rooftop security lights. It seemed a bit whiter than the brilliant pink it should have been.

The thief worried about the day of the full moon because if she tried anything, would he see right through it and think she was taking advantage of him? Sometimes she wasn't very good at subtle unless she was playing a grifter in place of Sophie. But Eliot was smart, he'd know if she was turning him into some kind of mark. Parker considered having Hardison get her another room for the rest of the trip, when she heard the metal door open behind her. She knew it wasn't Eliot coming to apologize, Nate didn't dish out relationship advice, and Hardison… Well he was off in his own little world. Her brilliant deduction skills told her that it had to be Sophie. If the grifter was there, the situation must be serious. To be honest, she thought one of them would have come to find her several hours ago…

* * *

Sophie had her black shawl around her shoulders but it wasn't that cold yet, for her forest green pencil skirt and ivory colored, sleeveless blouse. She shook her head when she'd gotten off the phone line with Eliot. The poor hitter not only was an emotional wreck because of his father's passing, and the mess with his step-mother, but he was also still a physical wreck since he'd just gotten out of the hospital yesterday. And then there was poor Parker trying to be supportive while getting her feelings hurt in the process. It seemed to her that the thief was desperately trying to make things work with Eliot and wires were getting cut and crossed before they were spliced back together. Parker's rituals had begun to work in the hospital but it seemed like the love was beginning to fizzle out. She told Alec to tell the others that she'd spotted Parker. She'd managed to pick the lock herself and put her ear bud in her black clutch before she started for the ledge. Sophie stood beside her and didn't say a word nor did she look at her. She just stared out at the night time view of the city lights. She decided not to say anything and just wait for her to open up. When Parker didn't take the hint, she started some small talk and hoped it would get her to start talking.

"The view is lovely up here…"

"I know what you're trying to do…"

"And what am I doing?"

"Trying to get me to talk about my feelings; I know I'm not his girlfriend or his wife, but right now he probably thinks I'm an over protective and crazy person."

"Parker, sweetie, I'm going to tell you what's going on with Eliot. First of all, he's an emotional and physical wreck right now, love. He has been through a lot with what happened on the job and the hospital, and is still healing from all the physical wounds. He's going to want to do things for himself soon and then the time will come when he'll start banging his head against a wall because he'll find out that he can't do things like he used to. Second, he just lost his father yesterday. Losing someone you love is very hard whether you were close or far away. We each have different ways of grieving; I'm sure you have your own special way."

"I don't grieve, but if I have to, Bunny is my way."

"There, you see? You have your Bunny. Eliot doesn't have a bunny, he grieves differently."

"But he's got me, or you, or Nate, or Alec. He could borrow my Bunny for a little while; all he has to do is ask."

"Parker, some people do their grieving in private. It could even be as easy as that he doesn't know how to ask for help. You hovering over him like a protective mother hen doesn't really help the situation either."

"I know. I think my time of the month is coming soon."

"I think it's more than that, love. In watching you two and listening some to you both, it felt like those love rituals were working. Since we arrived here, it seems to me like the love is waning."

"I really don't know what's wrong. Maybe you're right… I noticed my bracelet is turning whiter than the pretty pink it should be. Maybe the love between us is fading. I still have six days until I can do another one at the full moon."

"Oh dear me… How about you come and stay in the suite with Nate and I? We have a lovely couch Nate can sleep on."

"Oh yeah, like he'll like that idea. No, I have to go back and face the music. If my plans are going to move forward, I have to work things out with Eliot. I don't want things between us to end up like it ended up between Alec and I."

"Good girl, come now. The temperature is dropping and the winds are picking up. I wonder if a storm might be heading this way."

"I hope so…"

Sophie didn't know what to make of Parker's last sentence but she started for the door. She pulled it open before she pulled off the piece of tape she put on the locking mechanism so she could keep it from locking again.

"If I forget tomorrow, thanks for tonight," Parker mentioned when they got in the elevator.

"You're welcome, Parker dear."

* * *

Colt was tired. He spent a good chunk of his day with his mother in law. He was ready for a meal, a shower, a beer, and something naked by his side in the bed his wife grew up on; and not necessarily in that order. Lorena practically drove him crazy between appointments; nitpicking at things she found wrong with Beretta, like her weight, or that she should cut her hair, or that she didn't wear enough make up. After that she started in on her hatred of Eliot and she rattled on about what things of her late husband's property were hers because he promised them to her. Then Lorena went off the deep end about how Mexicans had taken over the U.S. of A. Wrap-heads and Indians owned everything else. Yellow Commie Gooks were making crappy stuff and selling it here, and that they were less than quality items. People should buy American or not at all. Then she started in on how black people were ruing sports, along with a big spattering of the, 'N,' word every other word. She hated that she had to listen to that, 'N word President.' Colt had been wise not to say a word or she would've found things to nitpick on him for; he ignored her as best he could. He knew it was wrong to let her think the way she did about people, but there was no way he was going to change her. He'd let God sort her out… Because he could do it far better than he could.

The sooner his wife and his step brother in law could wrap things up, the better they all would be. He fed her dinner from her favorite fast food place and he figured that was the end of his second major credit card. He'd maxed out his other one just to do her spa day while Beretta, her step-brother, and his friends went through the house looking for the will. He hoped to God they had found it because he wasn't going through a second day of Lorena. He was glad they his family lived so far away from her. There was no way he'd allow his kids to meet their step-grandmother… Not with a potty mouth on her face. He pulled into the driveway and she got out of the truck carefully so she wouldn't ruin her newly painted nails. Colt was ready to strangle her himself… But instead he opened the front door for her.

"Brett, we're back," Brett was his nickname for her.

"I'm going to go watch t.v. in my room," Lorena said before she stomped off to her room when Beretta didn't swiftly appear.

'Good riddance,' Colt thought as he watched her go down the hall to the master bedroom.

* * *

Then Beretta appeared in a small apron and it looked like not much of anything else. She had a tube top and shorts on under it to stay cool. The air conditioner was running, but she didn't feel all that cold. But then she got a look at her husband's face and she knew what his eyes were trying to say. Beretta gave him a lingering hug and then a sweet kiss.

"You don't have to say a word… We found the will today. You don't have to babysit her anymore."

"Praise God!" She could see the relief in his face. "I don't know how you put up with her, baby. I can see why you're so strong now, honey."

"Have you eaten?"

"No. I fed her some dinner. I wanted to wait to eat with you."

"Good, because I made a skillet dinner; then you and I will go share a bath before we crawl into bed."

"Sounds awesome."

* * *

Eliot poured himself a drink from one of those small bottles in the room refrigerator. He put it between his legs and rolled to the glass door. He undid the latch and opened it as best he could before he rolled out onto the small patio. There he sat and worried about the state of things in his life while he enjoyed the alcoholic beverage burning down his throat. Then suddenly the phone on the little table next to him rang. He picked it up.

"Hey man, your phone was off. Sophie tracked Parker to the roof. They're talking now… Dude, be more careful with her or I'm-ah gonna have to whoop your ass."

"Thanks. I might even let you win…" He said a little lowly and he hoped that Hardison didn't pick up on his trip to Downer-ville.

"Hey, I was kiddin'. Take it easy, I've gotta call Nate."

"Sure, thanks." Then the phone rang almost instantly again after he'd hung up with Hardison.

"Yeah?"

"This is Sean at the front desk. We've managed to locate your missing item. It was in Housekeeping and it is currently being delivered to the front desk. I can't leave the front desk at this late hour. When would you be able to pick it up?"

"I'm in a wheelchair man. I can't."

"I'll see if I can have it delivered. Sorry for the delay."

"Thanks."


	52. Chapter 52

**A/N - Whoo-Ray!**

**Hi Gang! I have RETURNED! Time to rejoice!**

**I got my baby back and I'm ready to ROCK! I hope you are!**

**Today on this FABULOUS FUNDS FRIDAY I have a NEW CHAPTER! (And the crowd goes WILD!)**

**A/N - I hope you all have a great weekend and be ready to have your socks blown off next week where an all new set of updates will be coming to a computer near you!**

**And remember I said good things come to those who wait... You've all earned it... Even those lurkers out there...**

**Thanks for your reviews from the last update, and being so PATIENT!**

**Ps. Don't forget to REVIEW! Parker needs reviews so she gets a pack of M&M's from Costco.**

* * *

Parker took a little longer than she should have getting back to Eliot. She took longer routes to get back to the hallway that lead to their room. She walked with her hands folded together behind her back. Then she was at their door… Doubts that the thief should enter the room still plagued her a bit. What if Eliot wasn't ready to see her? What if he was still upset? What if he was upset at her for running away? She wondered if it was too late to take up Sophie's offer to sleep over at the couple's room… Or maybe she could sleep in the ducts above her room? No, no, she, in so many words told Sophie she needed to make up with the hitter. While she stood there contemplating her options, Sean from the front desk had arrived to deliver the stone back to Eliot. Of course, there was someone holding down the fort until Sean returned.

"What do you want?" Parker asked before the man could knock on the door.

"I came to return an item to its owner."

"I'll take it."

Then Sean from the front desk handed her something small and once it fell into her palm, she knew exactly what it was. She held on tightly to it in her hand.

"I'll see that he gets it."

'If I ever trust him with it again…' Parker thought.

She tucked it into her pocket and fished out her card key out of her purse. She opened the door and right away she saw the sliding glass door open; Eliot in his wheelchair with his back to her as he stared out into the night; the inner room so still. She could see that he had been drinking. Parker heard Sophie's voice as she recalled that people grieve differently than her way. She locked the door and went to the sofa that became her bed later. She sat down and pulled Bunny into her lap; Eliot would come inside when he was ready to talk, so she would quietly wait. Idly, her hand stroked Bunny's aged plush fur…

* * *

Eliot heard voices in the hall but he ignored them. He was in the midst of his pity party. He'd been thinking about Parker since before Hardison had called to say she was on the roof with Sophie. He let out the breath he wasn't aware he'd held while he was on the phone. Eliot realized that he wouldn't ever forgive himself if something had happened to Parker, especially because of the way she'd left. She was safe and with Sophie. Yeah, the grifter would help her sort things out and see reason. He needed to see some reason himself. He almost halfway expected Nate to call and offer some, 'fatherly advice.' But it didn't come so he decided to pretend he could hear Nate in his head… Interestingly enough, it wasn't really Nate's voice he heard; it was a warped version of his own. His own inner voice reminded him that, sure, Parker wasn't normal, but there were reasons why she wasn't alright.

The voice reminded him that she had abandonment issues. And what had he done? He'd yelled at her because he wanted to be left alone for a while so he could think some things through. He didn't want to hear her whining; he just wanted to acquiesce to his request out of friendship. What she probably heard was, 'I want you to leave me alone and go away. I didn't want any of this mess; I wanted to go home. You brought this on me, I hate you, and I don't need you.' Fuck! And the worst thing about it all was that he was very likely right after the way she left. Dammit! She'd backed him into a corner he hadn't been ready to deal his way out of. He had been stressed, didn't she see that? Why didn't she see that he was stressed and wasn't prepared to handle more stress of her games? Why did she have to turn into a little kid and whine to get her way?

And then it hit him… Because she didn't get to have a normal childhood… She never really got to grow up… Sure, Parker got older, but the little girl deep down inside her got buried. He was sure Parker had to bury the little girl inside her to be able to go into survival mode. Wasn't that what he had done when he'd left his mama and gone into the service? And they broke him down and he'd had to bury that innocent young boy running away from his troubles to turn into a survivor and a killer. Kill or be killed, there was no let it be… Only live or let himself die. Parker didn't have the option of whining to get what she wanted back then, because the foster homes she'd been placed in would have still ignored her anyway. She was the outsider.

'The unwanted outsider,' Eliot thought grimly.

She was the shadow that was present but no one chose to acknowledge. And he'd just made her feel that way all over again. But the more he thought about it, was it really his fault? She'd read too much into what he'd said and then reacted badly… No, it seemed like they were both at fault. Parker because she might not really have known better with how to respond, and him for knowing better but not being more patient in explaining things to her so that she could understand. But dammit he'd been tired… His patience had been worn thin because of Sophie's little stunt about him being her sex slave and it had been a more emotional day than he'd thought. And handling Parker was a full time job. Making sure she was safe and protected was a full time job. Eliot guessed that now he was going to have to protect her from himself when he was so emotionally unstable. No, he hadn't thought a bit about what his father had put in that letter since Parker's escape.

* * *

Now, he'd heard the door open and close softly. Funny, he'd have expected it to slam shut, knowing her propensity to do things to piss him off and all. He heard her move into the room and flop down on the sofa. One of the springs on the left was loose because it hit the metal frame when she sat down, his trained hearing picked up. He wouldn't call his hearing super human but it was highly trained hearing. Hardison, in his Ass Geek Mode, had once accused him of being a mutant because his hearing could pick up when he dropped $0.35 cents on the floor without looking. That he was right up there with the hairy one with metal claws. Oh sure, up there with the Wolverine? If he were real maybe he could aspire to that goal… But that kind of mutant was just a comic book character. He'd told him, 'Whatever floats your boat, Hardison… On second thought, I don't wanna be something that floats 'your' boat.'

Eliot didn't dare tell him he had every X-Men and Wolverine comic book among others locked up in storage or Hardison would have Parker steal them all. That would be one of those unforgivable sins, he decided as he sat in his wheelchair. It didn't really matter that he'd had a crush on Rogue as a young boy because she was from the south, but the hacker didn't need to know that either. The more he'd thought about it; maybe he had aspired to become more like the Wolverine than he thought, you know, with all that stuff rolling around in his subconscious… Something was bound to happen. Both of them had a gift with women and had endurance beyond compare in the sheets as well. Both were fighters, intense warriors, and fierce protectors. Both had terrible things done to them, they both were a part of a team, and both were survivors. Heh, heh, heh, maybe he was a mutant…

Parker didn't even turn on the television set… Then Eliot realized that she must be waiting for him. Waiting for him to come in and make up as friends might. He wasn't ready yet. His last small bottle of whiskey was almost gone and he hadn't formed a plan as how to handle her now. In one hand he held the small bottle of whiskey open; the arm she could see, and in the other he held the box of rings his father wanted him to have. His thumb rubbed from side to side over the fake black velvet covered box; this, she couldn't see. The thought popped into his mind that he'd have to somehow hide the valuable items from Parkers nimble sticky fingers. If she stole them, it would be another one of those unpardonable sins because they held so much sentimental value to him. If he discovered them missing, it would break his heart and he'd have to go after the culprit who stole them with a vengeance like they'd never seen before.

Then he noted that the wind had picked up and low clouds were starting to fill the sky. He could see they were low because they began to reflect the streetlights and brighten the night sky until the stars were no longer visible. There was a storm brewing… He didn't know if it was just a reflection of how his emotions hung in the air as they prepared to fall all over the ground. Eliot wasn't prepared to turn and look at her yet. He worried that the look on her face might break him as well; he didn't want to see sad tears coming from her eyes. She was patiently waiting… So he finished the rest of the small bottle and put the box under his thigh where she couldn't see it. Then he tossed the small bottle into the small trashcan next to the wheelchair. Eliot maneuvered himself to come back inside…

* * *

"So, what was that all about?" Nate asked Sophie as she came back into their suite.

"Best I can guess darling, is that Eliot told her he needed some space to grieve and it came out all wrong. Parker heard things through her filter that he was telling her to get lost. I think I helped her see his point of view a little more clearly now. I really hope they see one another's points of view a bit clearer tonight."

"Who knows with those two?"

"Now, what's for dinner, I'm starving…" Sophie spoke as she toed off her high heels and relaxed against the expensive furniture.

* * *

Parker watched as Eliot wheeled back into the room. He looked tired and he was starting to maybe look more haggard than maybe he knew of. His five o'clock shadow was already growing into a fuller goatee and beard. He hadn't shaved in a while… Out of the blue, his stomach growled. He seemed to ignore it.

"Sounds like it's time to feed the beast…" Parker tried to make him smile.

She got a smirk she'd accept, "Be right back, gotta take a leak."

"Want me to order something? I haven't eaten either…"

"You pick, I'll eat it."

"'Kay…"

He sounded so defeated. This, this was her fault she decided. She didn't take into account his father's loss or whatever he'd retrieved on their road trip. She found the folder with all the hotel information and called down to order dinner. She paid for it by the $100 dollar bill she stole from a business man's wallet. They'd ridden on the elevator together and she'd seduced him to get his wallet. The cameras in the elevators never saw a thing. She hid the wallet in her purse. Maybe she'd mail it back to him with a note that he'd dropped it in the elevator when they got back to Portland, Oregon… Maybe…

* * *

Eliot had rolled into the bedroom and closed the door. He put the rings box into the paper bag and stuffed it under the mattress toward the head. It lay out so flat; she wouldn't notice that there was anything wrong with the mattress. Then he wheeled in and very carefully took care of business, all on his own. When he came back, Parker was inhaling the biggest cheeseburger he'd ever seen. It was big enough for 6 people to eat. Then there was a Styrofoam box of thick cut fries.

"What the hell is that?"

"Dinner… Ain't it awesome? It's called a Mega Burger. Here's a knife if you wanna cut off a section."

She handed him the butt of the steak knife as she held onto the tip. Poor him, there was so much food, he didn't know where to start cutting.

"I got you a large decaf coffee since you were drinking'. I didn't think alcohol and a milkshake would go down too easy. And the coffee won't keep you awake."

It was interesting to him the way they were getting along so companionably, like nothing had happened earlier that day. Were they both trying to avoid the inevitable conversation they needed to have? He supposed they were eating to gain strength to say the things they needed to say. Who wants to talk on an empty stomach anyway?

"Thanks."

She helped him out by cutting him a big hunk of the Mega Burger and put it on a plate with some thick cut fries. He helped himself to some of the ketchup packets from the bag dinner came in. He took his plate and dove in. He didn't know where she put it… Parker had eaten slightly more than half of that monster of a burger. He decided he might copy the burger and change the recipe slightly to add it to the menu at the Bridgeport. It would be a great addition for parties that came in for game nights, bachelor or bachelorette parties, and any kind of party really. When they finished she took care of cleaning up and she took up her seat on the sofa. She tucked her feet under her as she waited for him to take the first step…


	53. Chapter 53

**A/N - Hiya everybody! **

**I'm sorry I couldn't make it in to dialysis your MONEY MONDAY , the legs just didn't want to work. Good news is that I am doing a back 2 back and will be here tomorrow for WALL SAFE WEDNESDAY!**

**I just might give you readers and followers and favorited people an UN-BIRTHDAY present of another chapter update on TECH-ASS THURSDAY because IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!**

**YUP, I'll be turning old enough to go, what the hell was that birthday about?**

**A/N - This chapter is brought to you by select music from Celine Dion, Chris Isaak, Keith Urban, the Joshies, Josh Turner and Josh Groban... and last but not least, Santana!**

**A/N - WARNING! An interesting treat happened to Parker... WARNING! The reason why this story is RATED M is in this chapter...**

**Don't forget to REVIEW! And ENJOY!**

* * *

Eliot could sense that Parker was waiting for something. The air in the room felt like neither one wanted to say the first words of their conversation. Maybe he was just waiting for her to start her apology… But didn't he owe her one too? So he nodded at her like she should start talking, but then she narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms across her chest. Okay, so she was holding her ground then. In Parker body language it meant that she was closed to any kind of initiating in the conversation they needed to have. Well then, he decided to force her to go first when he crossed his arms and gave her one of those, 'I'm pissed,' looks. He thought he had won, until she narrowed her eyes and those crossed arms got tighter across her chest. Then he sighed and gave in… He uncrossed his arms and took another sip of warm coffee. Where were they gonna get if both of them were at a stand-still? At least it wasn't cold in the room anymore since Parker had gotten up and closed the sliding glass door when he went in to hide certain things in his room. He held onto his coffee like it was an anchor and began…

"I don't know what to say, Parker. Saying I'm sorry doesn't seem like enough. I don't know what to say to make up for what I never should have said earlier. I can't take it back… Look, I didn't mean to hurt or upset you. I don't think I've been myself since Beretta left the hospital and… And I know that ain't a real good excuse for my behavior, but it's the best I've got. I'm sorry if it seems like I don't have much patience and I snap. I've been ill for almost three months and I damn well didn't think I'd be out of commission this long. And then there's this thing with my dad I've gotta get through so I can go home, and get some rest, at my place," Eliot summed up by looking her in the eyes. "But anyway, in spite of all that, I'm sorry."

And then he looked down and stared at the black plastic lid on his decaf coffee as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. Eliot really didn't know what to expect from her now, however he had an idea that she might get up and say, 'Okay,' like everything was just erased from an invisible chalkboard. What actually happened; blew his mind…

* * *

Parker listened to Eliot's apology and took it all in. Most of what he'd said reaffirmed what Sophie had told her earlier on the roof. Okay so he apologized, what was she supposed to do again? She tried to recall what would happen next… She wasn't sorry for getting upset because she was just doing her job of protecting him. Though she was sorry that he had to go through not only the death of his father but the death of his biological family, so he was now an orphan like she was; she understood the meaning of it all. She didn't consider Archie her foster father, no; he was more like a boss. Beretta wasn't of his father's blood and who really wanted to count Lorena as anything other than a gold-digging former stripper, heh, female entertainer if you wanted to get technical. Then she remembered what Sophie said about people grieving in different ways than her own as she looked down at Bunny. Her plans had been put into action when she ordered dinner, so she continued the plan in motion as she stood, and moved toward Eliot in the wheelchair. Parker didn't say a word as she gently took the thick paper coffee cup from his fingers and placed it on the coffee table.

"Come on Sparky, it's late and you need your rest," she spoke barely above a whisper.

She didn't worry that he didn't fight her on it and make her talk. No, he was going with the flow to see where she was headed; she liked that. Parker didn't really want to fight now after having such an awesomely good meal. She tucked Bunny up under her arm and she wheeled Eliot into the bedroom. She turned on his bedside lamp, put Bunny on the end of the bed, and pulled back the covers. Then she reached for his arm and put it up around her right shoulder. She took a good grip on the clothing at his waist.

"Come, dance with me," she tenderly whispered.

He remembered to help lift himself up and she held onto him and his clothing as she helped him out of the locked in place wheelchair next to the bed. He maneuvered his casted legs as she moved his body. When he should have been ready to sit, Parker didn't let go. He looked up at her… She came in and held onto him in a hug for a few heartbeats before he could see into her eyes. Then she let him down gently to the bed. He was getting very sleepy and she worked faster. Between them, she got him stripped down to his t-shirt and black boxer briefs. He was totally putty in her hands. She helped him get settled on his back and pulled up on the covers; to his middle chest. She tucked him in waist down, that way he could still move if he needed to.

* * *

"You gave me something," Eliot quietly asked.

"Shhh… A little somethin' to help you get some sleep."

"How?" He was trying to fight the liquid sedative she'd slipped him in his coffee.

Parker picked up her much loved, cherished stuffed animal friend, Bunny, and tucked him in under the covers next to Eliot's heart.

"Bunny is gonna sleep with you tonight. I want you to tell him all your troubles and he will keep the nightmares away. He's good at that."

"Parker, I'm not sleeping with a damn stuffed animal. I don't need it."

"Shhh… It's just for tonight. I promise I won't tell the others."

All fight seemed to leave his body as his eyes closed, his breathing began to slow; a sign of sleep. Then Parker watched him sleeping for a few minutes before she leaned down and gave his forehead a soft peck.

"Good night, Sparky," she whispered after the kiss. "Sleep well, Eliot."

She knew the others would probably see that it was wrong to drug Eliot, but she didn't know how else to get him to sleep with her Bunny; because Superman Eliot was too manly to sleep with a stuffed animal at his age… Parker supposed that she'd just become Eliot's Kryptonite when it came to his health. The more she thought about it, treating Eliot like a small child and mothering him wasn't good either, but it helped her to feel needed. Most of the time they were together, Eliot didn't need her. He didn't need her to fight for him, he didn't need her to retrieve something for him, he did it all himself. If there was something to be retrieved or 'stolen,' Nate was the one who gave her, specific marching orders. Hardison thought he needed her and wanted her, but that wasn't real, and he found someone that did need him; and they got hitched FOREVER! Sophie needed her to grift for her sometimes when the job called for it, but once again there was one member of the team that didn't need her and it needled her; daily.

Well, now in conversations with Sophie about men's behavior, she learned that men like to be pampered when their sick. So maybe she'd just look at it that way… And when he was better she'd stop mothering him… Well, maybe not so closely anyway. She turned out the light and snuck out of the room while he was peacefully asleep; and left it slightly ajar in case he called out in the night. Parker needed a distraction and didn't want to turn on the television set because it might undo her plans. So she grabbed her jacket off the back of a chair near the sliding glass door and went out to the patio after she turned off all the lights. She closed the door almost all the way behind her and took a seat out there. The cold wasn't too bad yet, but she put on her jacket and pulled her phone out of the pocket. The clock said it was after midnight, it was Thursday, October 25, 2012. Still 5 days until she had to go do another full moon ritual. She fished the rose quartz stone out of her pocket. It was still whiter than ever… But she wouldn't give up hope yet.

Parker texted Hardison about how things were going in Oregon, with her property and all. The barn that was to be her office was supposed to be completed by then. The security system around the property was already up. Hardison had seen to that personally while the rest of the team had concentrated on visiting Eliot in the hospital. He'd taken down Eliot's ideas on securing Nate's apartment and just redesigned it on a larger scale. She didn't expect to get an answer considering that it was late. Everything was good and he was up taking care of some things to give Eliot his proposal in the morning. Parker seemed okay with that and let it slide for the time being. She'd find out what it was all about later instead of prying her friend for information. She sat out on the patio for a bit and watched the storm move, up until the point when she felt rain drops falling on her face. Then the thief got up and went inside. She got ready for bed and slipped between the sheets. The first few moments after falling asleep she spent dreaming about Eliot…

* * *

Eliot couldn't believe it… Parker had drugged him! Him of all people! He should have known there was something slightly off with the flavor of that coffee… She just put him to bed and tucked him in like she had in the hospital. No, he didn't need the stuffed animal; how could he take her Bunny from her? And he tried to fight her on it, but he had been getting too sleepy, and he just gave in. What was one night? He supposed he could trust that she'd keep the little secret between them from the others. God! If Hardison found out… He didn't want to think about it anymore. Then he felt even woozier as the medication fought his consciousness harder. Eliot gave in and closed his eyes. He thought he felt her kiss his forehead and wish him a good night, but he couldn't be sure of that because the medication won the fight and he drifted off to sleep.

In his dreams, Eliot came upon a lush green field with all kinds of lop-eared bunnies eating and hopping around. They were eating the emerald colored grass in perfectly beautiful sunshine. Then he spotted Dreamland Parker off not too far, with a basket on her arm, picking the most beautiful daisies. She already had a few in the basket and she was bent over picking more. She wore a pastel blue colored sun dress this time and her hair was half up and in a ponytail while the rest hung free under it and rested on her shoulders. Suddenly, she stood, and it reminded him of a doe in a field as she's eating grass when she is alerted to a foreign presence. She sweetly smiled and put her newly cut flowers in her basket. Eliot went up to her and she took his hand in to her small limber digits.

"So, what should we talk about today, Sparky?" She asked.

"Let me tell you about the dad inside my dad I didn't know existed…"

She led him by the hand and he took her hand and wrapped it around his non-injured arm. No, in this world he was free of casts, aches, pains, and scars.

* * *

In the other room, Parker's dreams were quite a bit different… She dreamt of her and Eliot going around the world and jumping off the highest points they could find. They jumped off of the Eiffel Tower, they jumped off Mt. Everest wearing those body suits that made you look like a sugar-gliding squirrel, they even managed to get up to the top of the Empire State Building and jump. That took some work though to get through the protective metal work and fiddling with some cameras so they wouldn't get caught. She went through every detail of every jump in her mind. What surprised her most was when after all that, her dreams changed. Instead of more ideas of things to jump off of, her mind led her back to what happened the day before, when she and Eliot were about to go into the bedroom to put him to bed. Instead of that, she saw herself taking away an un-sedative-laced decaf coffee, and then carefully sitting down in his lap. When she looked down at his legs, the casts were gone. Parker then saw herself take her hands and rest one on his shoulder as the other caressed his face; a face with a full beard, but not so long it was silly.

She turned his face to meet her own and then her lips fell into his. She never imagined them to be so soft; so yummy. And the mustache part of his beard tickled… Then he started to kiss her back and the game was on. He rolled the both of them in the wheelchair into the bedroom, not bothering to close the door. All the while she kept her lips bonded with his. Somehow she ended up in his bed and he was there above her. The pillow still smelled like him as she waited for him to undress before he came back to her. Of course it was dark in her dream at that point so she didn't see much, but her mind made up what she already knew the rest of his body looked like. Then he was there and stripping her out of her pajamas; first the top… One button at a time; slowly. His kisses searing into her skin, branding her as Eliot Spencer's Property. She smiled as she heard him laugh when he found a tattoo on her lower belly, just above her slightly furred and trimmed mound, that said, 'Property of Eliot Spencer, Beware of the Wahya.'

Oh! The ecstasy as she felt what she thought other women had taken part of in reality with him. No, this wasn't just some one night stand… It felt different… She felt the love there for her in his actions and ministrations. Oh My Gawwwd, do that again, Sparky, right there! She couldn't believe she was having this kind of dream about Eliot… But what the hell, she decided to go ahead and indulge her just a little until things progressed in reality. They came together at the apex of their lovemaking in her dream and then they spooned together and rested for a while before Parker's mind decided that once wasn't enough. So they went at it for the rest of the darkness in her dream. Then she heard Eliot's voice calling to her…

"Parker, wake up. It's time for breakfast," and her eyes flew open…


	54. Chapter 54

**A/N - Howdy, wasn't that fun?**

**This chapter is brought to you by Escala's Palladio, and Robert Miles' Dreamland Album. Especially the song Children; you'll see why later.**

**Eliot and the team prepare to go to battle...**

**Pretty please don't forget to REVIEW! And I will see you all tomorrow for your UN-BIRTHDAY PRESENT!**

* * *

A little after dawn, Eliot opened his eyes slowly. He'd made it through another night. He felt better after having had some rest. Then he looked down and saw Parker's Bunny.

'Guess you held up your end,' he thought as he lay there and recalled what Parker said the stuffed animal could do for him.

He put Bunny on his bedside table and turned on the sunlight as the sky still had to illuminate the room fully. He used his good arm to push himself up to a sitting position. Eliot tossed back the covers and then pushed one leg at a time off the bed. At least he still had muscle control to stop them before each one fully hit the floor. He managed to get himself into the chair and to the dresser to get his under clothing for the day out. He knew he needed help from Parker to get his black suit out of the closet once she got up; he could do it himself but he didn't want to have to add the cost of a new hanger for the room if he yanked too hard or tailor services to fix it if he ripped it. There were really no words that he could come up with to talk with her about what she'd done last night. He tried to apologize and try to explain why he was out of sorts… And, and she just cut through all the crap, drugged him, and quickly, quietly put him to bed with her Bunny.

'How does she do it? How does she take me on, with all my crap, and still reach through to me in friendship when I've fucked things up?' Eliot thought.

The hitter didn't yet know the answer to that question, but he'd have to put off seeking the answer until after the business of dealing with his father was over. He changed his t-shirt to another t-shirt to go under his dress shirt. He'd managed to get that far on his own as well as changing his underwear after he took care of using the can. Then he rolled out to where Parker was still sleeping. Her hair was splayed all over the pillows under her head and he guess she slept peacefully; she had a wickedly big smile on her face and he wondered what that was all about. It was probably the time she stole the British crown jewels with Sophie so they could play dress up one afternoon for tea. The thief was a princess of some kind and the grifter was the Queen Sophie for a day. Regardless, it was time to get up and help him finish getting dressed.

"Parker, wake up. It's time for breakfast," and her eyes flew open…

* * *

Parker recognized Eliot and buried her face into her pillow. How long had he been watching her? She hoped she hadn't been making silly noises while she was dreaming…

'How embarrassing would that be? Well, he looks almost dressed. I better get up…' She thought as she sat up.

"Good morning," Parker said softly.

"I don't know what kind of morning it is yet. We have to go meet my dad's lawyer today for the will."

"Right… And your evil step-mother will be there too… I'll take a rain check and ask again later," Parker stood and folded up the bed.

"Yeah, thanks. I need my suit from the closet and I can handle things from here."

"Just a minute, Sparky, my bladder is a watermelon about to bust," she said as she definitely had to go…

When she came out her hair was all braided, coiled, and pinned to the back of her head. She looked like Heidi stepped out of the movie into real life. Then she rushed to the closet, got his suit down, and her 'little black dress,' Sophie had picked out for her in preparation for the trip. She disappeared back into the bathroom with both. She slipped into the black dress; it was a finely knitted form fitting dress. The weave of the knit was so tight you couldn't see the black slip sewn into the inside. The neck cowled down but not so far that her breasts were visible. The arms could be pushed up and stay gathered mid-forearm if she needed to cool off. Parker rushed back out with Eliot's jacket a few minutes later. She'd had it hanging on the shower curtain rod over a steaming shower to get rid of any wrinkles as she did up her face. Then she didn't have to iron them out. She grabbed the jacket and helped Eliot get it on over his soft cast. A quick trip back and she had the slacks.

Once Eliot was dressed, Parker took up pushing Eliot in his chair to the elevator; he didn't even object and fight to do it himself. The team was to meet up in the lobby after breakfast to go to the law offices of Sheraton, Pope, and Stevens for the will videos to be viewed and the backup official will to be read if the videos were to be challenged. They all wanted to support Eliot because there was only one of two rough days left that he had to go through that they knew of, and the other would be the day of the funeral. Beretta, Colt, and Lorena would be coming in their rental vehicle to the location. Breakfast with Hardison had been interesting to say the least. Then, it didn't take long after that for the team to load into the Suburban waiting in the front entrance curb. Once again, Parker worried that Eliot was quiet and stoic as he stared out the window. She wanted to just reach across the seat and take his hand but she held back. She broke it up and allowed Hardison to sit next to Eliot this time; she wasn't sure what made her hold back. Maybe it was a residual fear of rejection… What if she reached out to take his hand and hold it in support, to only have him flinch away? That would hurt… But then she'd build up another wall to block out the pain; which was what she could see him doing as she watched him from the back seat.

* * *

'Dammit Parker,' he thought as he caught first sight of her in that, 'little black dress.'

It stopped just above her knees and it still showed plenty of leg… And dammit if he was getting feelings in places he shouldn't have been right then. Heaven help him when she turned around and she flashed him that tiny little butt of hers as she was busy getting the both of them ready. And then they were down at the hotel's restaurant and shared a table with Hardison.

"Whoo mama, you lookin' hot," Hardison commented as he spotted Parker pushing Eliot up to the table.

"Hey! Eyes off, orange soda freak. You're attached to someone else," Eliot teased.

"Hey, I get it. I's just givin' the Crazy One props on her choice of attire. You're not so bad lookin' either, man," Hardison said as he pushed in the chair behind Parker.

"Thanks, I think."

"Mom and Dad are upstairs having breakfast in suite. They'll be down in a bit."

"How late were you up last night?" Parker asked.

"Late? You mean how early. Got about four hours sleep after your text. How'd you two sleep? We had some damn full clouds last night take a huge dump so that four hours wasn't the best."

Eliot shared a look with Parker and she looked down to break contact.

"Okay, what was that look?" Hardison spoke up, "Did yawl get some last night? Was it good?"

"Not too bad. Didn't hear a thing," he replied and then he processed what Hardison asked… "No, no, no! Dammit Hardison! I went to sleep alone. Parker went to sleep alone. End of story!"

Was that a blush she was trying to hide under the hand that came up to cover her mouth?

"Bunny watched over me, had good dreams," she lied.

Eliot let go of the breath he'd been holding until she'd answered the hacker.

"Did you get that information on Beretta and Colt that I needed?"

"Yeah, looks pretty bad man. They're barely stayin' afloat after the kids. Mr. W was downsized and became Mr. Mom and Mrs. W. found work not too long after the last kid was born. The work seems stable for her for now. But there's always tons-ah risk doing so much traveling."

"They need money from my dad's estate then…" Eliot uttered as he looked over the papers that Hardison passed across the table.

"But it's a worthy cause, ain't it?" Parker asked.

"They're not blood but they're the only family I have left."

"Hey, what are we, chopped liver?" Hardison objected.

Eliot smirked, "Present company excluded."

"I'll take it… And remember that when you get stuck on a job and need a way out."

"I'll keep that in mind when all your golden digits get broken into several pieces," Eliot grinned. "After I make it out on my own…"

* * *

"Now, children, play nice," Sophie teased as she came up behind Parker. "It's too early in the morning for knit-picking, darlings."

She had on dark sunglasses and looked tired, but impeccably dressed for the job they had coming up. Nate came in a couple minutes behind her and looked just as tired, and with sunglasses. At least he'd managed to comb his hair before he'd left the room. Of course it was obvious to the team as to what the reason for their haggard look was all about. Hardison's question more applied to them than Eliot and Parker but they hadn't overheard Alec messing around.

"What's the plan, Eliot?" Nate wanted to know as he pulled up a chair and Hardison scooted over closer to Sophie.

"Meeting at Sheraton, Pope, and Stevens. Will gets watched and when Lorena puts up a fit, I'll have to go through the reading of the paper back-up copy. Then when that's all done we'll get to setting up for the funeral and how to deal with Lorena afterward."

"Sounds good. You all stay here and eat. I'll go get the Suburban and we'll get going. Rain's gonna be off and on all day. Supposed to be clear for Saturday and Sunday… But weather people aren't perfect."

"I'll have another cup of coffee, myself," Sophie added. "I'll get yours to go, darling."

* * *

Soon they arrived at the offices of Sheraton, Pope, and Stevens; it was only about five blocks from the hotel. It was a two story office building with little stores under it; mainly fashion boutiques and a few tax preparers. God, he didn't want to have to be there. Eliot figured the hardest part of the rest of the trip was going to be the military funeral on Saturday. On Sunday, he and Beretta had planned to have a small memorial service for the public that had grown to love the other side of his father. Most people didn't know that Franklin Spencer had a double life; two personalities in one. Eliot sat up a little straighter in the wheelchair as they rolled out of the elevator and headed for the ornately decorated mahogany colored doors. Nate opened the door and Parker did the honors of pushing him up to the low secretary's desk. She was a pretty young thing but she didn't look like she was overly interested in him. Most women her age were usually climbing over themselves to go out with him because of the palpable amounts of bad boy personality he had in the air around him. He noticed she didn't have a ring… Hmm, he wondered if maybe she played for the other team…

"Welcome to Sheraton, Pope, and Stevens, how may I help you?"

"Eliot Spencer to see Jack Sheraton; I made an appointment earlier with his service this morning," Eliot had while he was waiting for Parker to steam his suit in the shower.

"I'll go let him know you're here," she said with a kind smile.


	55. Chapter 55

**A/N - HAPPY UN-BIRTHDAY TO YOU!**

**This chapter is brought to you by Keith Urban's Tonight I Wanna Cry...**

**A/N - I know it's sad... It's that way because it's an UN-BIRTHDAY... If it was a birthday it would be happy wouldn't it?**

**Look, this chapter had to come sometime... I know I'****ll be redeemed at the end. Just remember, the team isn't done with Lorena yet...**

**As a warning, chapters 55 and 56 will be the saddest EVER! But then it looks up hill from there.**

**A/N - WARNING: BAD LANGUAGE and TISSUES WILL BE NEEDED!**

**I know you wanna absolve me of my sins and send me a REVIEW! The story must go on!**

**BIG THANKS to lmiller19 for her suggestion to make this a long story... Bet you didn't think it was gonna be this long!**

* * *

A few minutes later, the secretary named Denise came back and took a seat.

"He'll be right out in a few moments if you'd like to wait."

So Parker pushed him off to the side out of the way. She and Sophie took up seats next to him while Nate and Hardison stood. In his nervous excitement, he was reminded that Parker's abandonment of him to sit in the back seat had kind of hurt. Instead, he'd gotten stuck with Hardison… And dammit, he couldn't hold hands with Hardison! So in place of her hand in his, he'd just stared out the window and tried to imagine her hand in his; like it had been in his dreams the night before. Then the door opened that the secretary had disappeared behind and out came a tall man, at least six foot four, he guessed. He had on a dark gray suit and a solid black tie lay upon his white dress shirt; his hair was parted in an old style, but not too much like a bald man's comb over, no, this guy had hair; plenty of chestnut colored hair. His look screamed, 'former basketball player,' and was confirmed in his gait. He moved up to the group of people and stopped.

"I'm Jack Sheraton, now which one of you gentlemen is Eliot Spencer," he spoke with a British accent.

Eliot hoped that Sophie wouldn't start drooling over him with Nate in their presence. She had to ham it up just a little and show off her accent as well.

"Hello darling, Jack is it? I'm Amelia Prentiss and this is my boyfriend Garn Slabdash, the N is silent. This is our friend Eliot that you seek. And they are Alice and Alex, our mutual friends."

"Nice to meet you all," Jack said as he shook Eliot's hand. "Eliot, shall we get to business?"

"Yeah. Send Beretta and company in when they get here," Eliot told Sophie.

Parker followed Jack as she pushed Eliot next to him. The rest of the team stayed behind to wait for the three other people. They went right to his lavishly decorated office and Parker parked Eliot in front of the man's desk before she took a seat in the leather chair next to him.

"Well now, I'm going to need to verify your identity for the legal part of all this. So I'll need your identification card and social security number, and your address on this form," he said as he went hunting for a pen on in his desk.

Eliot didn't really mind all the paperwork, because when he was well, he would make sure that the evidence of his identification, social security number, his address, and any proof his father existed would disappear once he got well enough; just like he'd done for his mother. He'd done so, so no one could trace him through his family, or be able to steal their identities since they had passed away. He had even made plans to do the same for Beretta and her family to protect her, Colt, and the children. He was in the process of signing documents when there was a buzz. Jack flipped a switch on an old telecom device and then Denise's voice came on over it to announce that Beretta Winchester had arrived.

"Good, good," he answered her. "Now, Miss Alice, would you please follow me with Mr. Spencer to the conference room. Once we are there, I'm afraid you won't be able to be allowed into the meeting because of confidentiality laws."

"She can stay," Eliot stood up for Parker; it wasn't up for debate and he didn't think Beretta would mind.

He'd allow Colt to stay with his wife and he sure as hell wouldn't put up with Lorena's whining. Parker had been with him so far, so, he'd let her stay.

"Very well then. Make yourselves comfortable inside while I go get the rest of the members of our meeting."

So they went to the conference room and Parker parked Eliot near the head of the table to the right. Then she eased her way into the plush leather seats.

"They're real leather," she said when she relaxed back into the chair.

He half expected her to start spinning around like she sometimes did in chairs at Nate's, but she didn't.

"Thanks," she said after a few quiet moments.

"What for?"

"Saying I could stay."

"Don't worry about it," he said, being nonchalant about it.

* * *

"Now, here we are. Please take your seats and we will begin."

"Yeah, let's get this crap over with so I can get on with my life," Lorena announced as she flopped into a leather chair across the table from Eliot and Parker.

"Mother, behave!" Beretta barked at her as she sat in a chair with a chair between her and her mother; Colt sat to her right.

It was sad as the scene presented itself like a battle between the haves and have not's. A couple minutes later Denise came in with three video tapes and handed them to Jack.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we shall begin," he said as he pushed a button on a tape recorder.

"I am Jack Sheraton from the law firm of Sheraton, Pope, and Stevens on this twenty-fifth day of the month of October; in the year of our Lord, two thousand and twelve. We are here today to execute the wills of one Franklin Spencer, recently deceased husband of Mrs. Lorena Spencer of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, parent of Mr. Eliot Spencer of Portland, Oregon, and step-parent to one Beretta Winchester, of Fort Bragg, California."

Beretta held a few Kleenex tissues from the box on the man's desk in her hand. She hadn't begun to shred them into little pieces yet. She knew she would when her mother became more difficult. Her other hand held onto Colt's for support and his hand held onto hers tight.

"Why is there more than one will?" Lorena wanted to know.

"Madam, I am getting to that. Be patient. Franklin chose to do a videotaped will and a paper copy of his will, and both are very legal, Mrs. Spencer."

Jack stood and put the tape marked number one into the videotape player. He turned on the monitor and adjusted the sound.

"All the modern conveniences and he had to use videotape," Lorena whined.

"Mother!"

The screen showed the lettering, 'The Last Will and Testament of Franklin Spencer.' Then he came on the screen.

"I, Franklin Spencer, do hereby solemnly swear that I am of sound mind and body, at least for now. I am not under duress. I hereby bequeath everything I have to my son, my only son. I know there was a time I tried to erase him from my mind, but I never forgot him in my heart. I know he will properly see to my belongings and distribute them as he wishes, but I still have some requests of my property. To my widow, Lorena, darlin', I know… I know about Enrique… And to be honest, darlin', you can have him, but it won't be on my dime. From this day forward, you will no longer be allowed into my house. Eliot, I'm sure you'll see to that, son. Just pack up her shit, excuse my language, while she waits outside. I don't trust you in my house, babe. If she tries to contest any parts of my wills, she gets nothing."

"He's right, old fucker, 'cause I'd break all his crap," Lorena was fuming.

"Dammit mother!"

* * *

Parker sat there thinking… 'Whoa.'

She kept her mouth shut and narrowed her eyes at Lorena.

"As for the house, I want it emptied and you can keep it or sell it, son. It wasn't in the family for generations or stuff like that. The store… Well, the store's been sold so you don't have to worry about that anymore. As for the money in my estate, I want it to be split between my son and my only daughter. She's not my blood, but I want her to have the legal rights as if she were."

Then the tears began to fall from Beretta's eyes. Even Parker started to well up a little. She wished she'd known that kind of fatherly love. She wasn't Archie's blood, but she still didn't have the love like Beretta had from her late step-father. No, she tried to find it within her friends. She looked over to Eliot and he was fighting hard not to let the tears show, but she knew he'd cried a little because his eyes were red.

"Son, you know what you have left to do. I've earned my military send off. Put me with your mother if you want or with my parents, it's up to you. Cremate me even; at least put me somewhere where I'll be happy. You can watch the other tapes together or separate it's all up to you. I'm sorry I had to go so soon everybody, but I'll see you again someday. Gotta go. Bye."

"Well ain't that damn funny. Didn't I tell you it was all your fault…? And now I get nothing. Just fucking brilliant."

"What did you expect? You cheated on his father!" Parker stuck up for Eliot this time.

She'd been quiet and behaved, but now her friend was coming under attack again.

"What, the prodigal hero can't speak for himself?"

"Get out, mother, and don't come back. You can come by the house later and your shit will be on the lawn for pick up."

"Forget it; donate it to some poor fucker who needs it. I'm out of here," then Lorena stood and left the conference room.

"Eliot, I'm sorry about her. I don't think we'll ever have to see her again," Beretta apologized.

"No, don't apologize for her; it's a waste of time," Eliot spoke.

"At least we don't have to sit through reading the paper will," Jack voiced. "Well, here is the deed to the house and I will leave you alone if you wish to watch the other videos alone. There is one for each of you."

"Thanks. We'll leave you alone to watch your tape," the hitter needed time to go use the men's room.

"You can stay, El."

"I've gotta use the can."

"Oh. 'Kay," Beretta said as she stood to go put her tape into the player.

* * *

Parker stood and made her way to position behind him. He undid the brakes and then she pushed him out into the hall; down to the men's room door. She felt sad that Eliot's step-mother tried to put him through hell again, but she'd stand up for him all over again. She hoped that the evil woman's words didn't get through his tough outer exterior to his heart. He didn't need to be beating himself up even more…


	56. Chapter 56

**A/N - Here is part two of the meeting at Sheraton, Pope, and Stevens.**

**This chapter is brought to you by Escala's Paladio and Keith Urban's Tonight I Wanna Cry.**

**WARNING! TISSUES MAY BE NEEDED!**

**A/N - The love you guys show my story and Muses has inspired a surprise coming from an unlikely source... Beretta.**

**But you'll have to wait for chapter 57. Bwahahahaha! But only because I'm still writing it.**

**A/N - Thank you for the birthday greetings and I got to drag Eliot, Sophie, and Parker Muses with me yesterday while we did some clothing shopping.**

**A/N - Just as we're about to enter the 60's for chapters, I'm beginning to wonder if I can get the story wrapped up by 100. If I can't, I'll have to split it up and write a sequel... Which means another 100 chapters. Woo Hoo!**

**ENJOY and please REVIEW! **

* * *

Eliot managed on his own once Parker got him in the door of the men's room. He sighed as he finally had a moment alone to process everything that just happened. His father just gave him everything and his step-mother just blamed him for just about the whole enchilada turning sour in her life. No, he wouldn't keep the house… He didn't have any good memories there. No, that house would go up on the market as soon as possible and Beretta could use the money. Hell, she could have it all considering the size of his bank account. He'd arrange to have the house packed up and moved to a storage unit next to the one his father had reserved in Lawton, Oklahoma. Then when he was ready, he'd hire a semi rig and move all of it closer to his home. He had to get through this day. It was just an ordinary day just like any other day.

'Yeah, keep believing that… And there's ocean front property in Arizona that might be for sale…' Eliot thought.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the conference room, Beretta was watching her video…

"Beretta darlin', I'm sorry I had to leave you to deal with your mother. And I'm sorry you had to find out about Enrique this way. I don't blame him for much; I know your mother seduced him. He'll probably be leaving her soon once she finds out that there's not going to be money for him to tap into. She made her own bed so to speak. I miss those kiddos of yours already. When Eliot watches his video he'll know about this, but I did something for Logan and Lily Belle; to help them in their futures. When I sold the business I put together trusts for the both of them but as you probably know, they weren't born yet. I put their names on to them when each one was born. I made Eliot executor of the trusts as well as the wills. They're secured until both children turn eighteen. More than likely they can use them for college… They'll have to come see their step-uncle Eliot to get what they need. I arranged it as such, just in case something happens to you or Colton. It's in place for a reason. I never thought I was going to pass on before I could get to see them all grown up."

Beretta was just a mess of tears by then and she'd killed off half the box of Kleenex from the table. Colt held onto her other hand as her anchor.

"I've left everything to Eliot especially some things of mine I want the children to have once they are old enough to understand the stories behind them, yes, they're my medals. Knowing Eliot, he'll probably sell the house. You're the only family he's got left and I know you're not blood, but after what you've shared with me of what he told you in confidence, you two are closer than he and I could have ever been. I want you to look out for him. Make sure you watch over him and make sure he's happy. He needs to meet a girl and settle down; have a family of his own. You're happy with yours; he needs to find that too. Promise me, Princess. Good girl. I know I didn't say it often enough, but I tried and that's the important part. I love you and I'll see you again someday. Tell the kids I love them too. I love you more, Dad."

She just couldn't hold on any longer and Colt took her into his arms to let her express her emotions before anyone came back.

* * *

Eliot managed to get to the door and open it. Parker stood leaning up against the wall waiting for him. She came over right away to help him out.

"How are you holding up?" Parker softly asked as she pushed him slowly back up the hall.

He figured he could answer her because she was behind him; he didn't think he could take it if they were face to face.

"I'm fine."

"Hello, I'm fine, I'm just a concerned friend, nice to meet you," she was playing around and it made him smirk in amusement.

"I think we're almost done here. Go ahead and wheel me back to the conference room and then you can go wait with the others if you want."

"It's okay; I understand you want to be alone to watch your dad's tape. I'll go have Nate get the Suburban ready to go back to the hotel. I don't know if it's raining again."

"Thanks."

So Eliot was delivered to the conference room and Beretta and Colt were still inside. Parker parked him where he'd been seated at the table earlier and put her hand on his shoulder. She gave a light squeeze and was gone. Beretta seemingly pulled it together and looked at Eliot with a weak smile.

"Did you want me to stay, El?"

"Nah, I got this if you want to go to the house and rest a while before you've gotta get rid of your mother's things."

"Oh no, I'd rather go do that first, then rest. Nothing would give me more pleasure I think, well except for that other thing Colt and I enjoy."

"Well, have at it then, I'll contact you later on tonight. I had hopes of having the funeral on Saturday and then maybe a public memorial service for his customers to say good bye on Sunday."

"No, no. We should have that on Saturday before our service. Most people 'round here go to church on Sunday. And we have to somehow head home on Sunday. Logan's got a little cold and he wants mommy. My mother in law called after I watched my video."

"I see, yeah, and then we could have the public service at ten and ours at two."

"Perfect. We could all fly out at five, like the original plan. We hadn't bought our tickets to fly back yet," Colt offered. "It will be tough emotionally, but I think we all can get through it because Lorena won't be there."

"Don't put it past her, lover mine. She just might out of spite. Let's go pack up my mother's stuff and our bags. I'll wait for your call."

* * *

So when the couple left, Eliot wheeled himself down to the video cassette tape player and popped in his tape. He stayed there between the audio visual cart and the long table. The sound was adjusted and the tape began.

"Son, a few years after your mother left, I finally got clean. It was hell, but I made it through with God's help; twelve steps and all that jazz. Life was good and then after things fell apart with Lorena, I saw it as a sign… I was thinking of ways to make amends with the ones I hurt and then the Good Lord showed me something in the error of my ways. John 3:16 came to me. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him he should not perish, but have everlasting life. And then I saw something in that verse of scripture. Just as God gave up his Son, I had to let my son go. I so loved you; that I gave my only begotten son to the world… I believed in you and that you would have a long life because you were going to make it through your stint in the service. And if you're watching this now, I know you must have made it. I called in some favors from some of my buddies that I served with to follow your career and found out that you made it out safe. I still don't know if you're sound yet, but I assume you'll get there one day."

Eliot didn't know what to think… His chest began to ache as his dad was continuing to break down the walls he built up around his heart to keep his dad out of his life. They had gotten the crack in them during that mega grocery store job trying to put Mom and Pop places out of business. And he'd tried to make the first step, but it had almost been too late at that point. And as he mentally tried to look back on his career, he never really felt his father had been looking out for him.

"I'm sorry that we both spoke so harshly to each other back then. I realized that I wasn't the man I wanted to be back then, and you were becoming a man before my eyes. I guess I didn't want to let you go for the reason that I didn't want you to grow up so fast and here you did anyway. You took on responsibilities you never should have had to… And I'm sure you saw things you shouldn't have as well. Please forgive your old man… If you can't right now, I understand. If you can't ever, I understand that too. Someday you will have to or you won't be able to move on with your life. Now, I know Beretta isn't your real sister, but I'm sure you're both now probably closer than blood. I want you to look after her, make sure she's safe, and happy. She deserves so much more than that monster of a mother she's had to deal with growing up. You certainly know what it's like having a parent who was a monster…"

Even though Beretta was married now, he'd still protect her and her new family to the death if it came to it, just like he'd protect his teammates.

"It's okay; I can admit it now, because I couldn't see it then. Among the other things I left with Jack, there are some letters I wrote to you for important points in your life stored there in Lawton, Oklahoma. There's a couple of letters for Logan and Lily Belle, and a special one for the girl you marry someday. Don't you dare read that one! I'll know, I'll be watching over you. If you're watching this, you've probably already read the letter from the safety deposit box in Bokoshe, Oklahoma. I forgot to mention that I've made you executor of two trusts I funded for Logan and Lily Belle. They will have access when they're eighteen, but I want you to over-see it so it lasts a long time. I put it in place so if anything happens to Beretta or Colton. I want you to promise me you'll take good care of her kids and if you can't remember the good times we had, that's okay, but don't fill their heads with all the bad either. Let them know they had a grandfather that loved them very much. I'm sure your mother is watching over them now. Most of all, Eliot, I want you to look after yourself, be safe, and be happy. Love is the greatest gift. And I don't know if you'll accept it from me… I love you, Eliot… And I hope we see each other someday on the other side. Bye now, Dad."

When the video ended he pulled out the tape from the player and placed it back into the case it came out of to protect it. Then he left the tape on his lap as he rolled around to grab some Kleenex out of a second box on the table. He wiped his cheeks to cover the tracks of any tears and to clear his nose. Eliot took a few minutes to slowly breathe in and out to compose his face before he faced his friends. He couldn't let them see him fall apart now, not when they were so close to being finished. Somewhere in his mind he compartmentalized his emotions and he locked them away just like he had with his past with Moreau. He needed a bottle from a bar and he wanted to crawl into the bottom of it until morning. He was going to have to talk to Sophie to make Parker understand, he really wanted to be alone tonight. Then he stuffed the tissues into a pocket on his jacket before he headed to the door.

* * *

Parker heard Eliot on the other side of the door. She held in her emotions as well as she eavesdropped through the door to the conference room. She could only imagine the state he was in now. She didn't hear him cry but she heard everything his father said and she was on the verge of tears herself, but instead she thought of Lorena getting arrested on some kind of prostitution and drug charge. Maybe even theft of credit cards from some celebrities… Something to send her to jail… She didn't deserve to suddenly win a cruise to somewhere, seriously. Because then she'd have to rig the ship to sink and that would be too many innocent people paying for that woman's rude behavior. Parker heard him blow his nose and then she heard his foot rests hit the door. She opened the door from the outside slowly, so it didn't feel like she was ripping the doorknob out of his hand. He had actually been pushing as she had opened the door.

"Ready to go?" She said softly.

"Yeah. I'm all done here," he said somberly.

"Is there somewhere you need to go now?"

"No, we can go back to the hotel."

Parker internally sighed in relief. If she could get him back to the room, she'd help him rest or grieve, whichever came first. If she couldn't crack his shell in Oklahoma, she'd sure as hell get him to once they got back to Oregon. She thought of the property for just a moment and having Eliot there on the other end of the porch, both of them sharing a quilt on a porch swing while it was pouring rain all around them. Parker mentally slapped herself and took ahold of Eliot's wheelchair. Now, to the hotel…


	57. Chapter 57

**A/N - I had the most generously awesome review the other day and I just had to share...**

**_Anyone that is a Leverage fan has to read this story. It would make a great TV movie. The writer has such insight to the members of the team and their love and respect for each other._**

**_THANK YOU CAROL! _**

**Parker Muse said it was like getting one of those $1,000 Chocolate sundaes. The sugar high she had after devouring it kept me busy writing. Eliot Muse rolled his eyes at her and said that there was something wrong with her. He liked the beer and sports channels he gained. Hardison Muse actually got a couple huge bottles of Orange soda as well.**

**A/N - That being said, the Muses of mine were so HAPPY they were inspired to make me write 4 chapters this week!**

**So you will be gettin' 3 on WALL SAFE WEDNESDAY, to make up for missing a couple days and then you'll get two more on FABULOUS FUNDS FRIDAY to help you get through the weekend.**

**ENJOY! And you know what comes next, PLEASE REVIEW! LOVE TO ALL YOU REVIEWERS WHO KEEP THE MUSES HAPPY! **

* * *

It wasn't as easy as just leaving. Jack roped Eliot into finishing the legal paperwork to officially set him up to become the executor over his step-niece and step-nephew's trusts. By the time they made it back to the hotel it was after noon. Parker got him to the room and helped him get comfortable in a t-shirt and some shorts with slightly elongated, widened legs to fit over the casts that still plagued his flesh. It felt much better to be out of his suit. Eliot hit the phone book in spite of his tiredness, found the local VFW and the local American Legion to aid in his father's funeral. They told him that he'd need some information to verify his father's service before they could authorize someone to come for Franklin Spencer's funeral. He promised to get back to the VFW and the American Legion with his father's discharge papers, his dates of service, his rank and branch, his place of service, and service number. He'd have to go to the house or have Beretta find what he needed.

After finishing that, he went into the bathroom, closed the door and locked it; as if it would actually keep Parker out but he knew it really wouldn't if she wanted to get in. Then he called Beretta.

"Beretta, it's me. I wanted to know. What do you think I should do with my dad? I'm at a loss."

"You know you can call me Brett; easier that way. If you don't want to go through all the hassle of the funeral and a burial, you could have him cremated and we can pick out an urn we really like. I'll take him home with me if you want. Then you can come visit whenever you like."

"He wants me to put him somewhere he'll be happy. I don't know about those kinds of things because I wasn't around my father. I don't know where he'd be happy."

"Well… Would you feel up to putting him with your mother?"

"They were divorced, I don't know that it's appropriate to allow him to be with her; that and with the way he treated her… My first instinct is to say no."

"As I said, have him cremated and I'll take him home with us. He'll be out of sight and I'll keep him in a special place, away from the children's prying hands at least until they get old enough to understand who their step-grandfather was. And like I also said, you can visit any time. I suppose you should contact me first before you travel so I can make sure I'm home."

"No, I think it would be good to have him with you in California. I'm going to sign for the body; we'll have his funeral at the cemetery where my mom is, but no burial. You go ahead and go home after the funeral. I'll have Hardison get you back to California so you can see to the kids. On Saturday, we'll have him in a casket. Then I'll have him cremated. It'll take a few more days here so we'll fly home to Oregon sometime next week. You wanted me to come for Thanksgiving; I'll bring him when I come down."

"Yes, I did, full-court dinner with all the trimmings. And I also invited your friend, Parker. You should both come. We have plenty of room. You could share a room," Eliot heard her fishing for hints on his relationship with the thief.

"Brett, stop. Parker and I work together. We're not sleeping together."

"But you could be…" Beretta teased him.

"Enough. No, we're just friends."

"Yeah… Sure. She's been with you all this time hasn't she? She's been closely helping you get well and she got you here as soon as she could to make sure you could be with our dad. Step-father or not, he was the only man I knew as my father. Anyway, I think Parker's in love with you…"

"If you knew how many different kinds of crazy she is, you wouldn't say that."

"What kind of sister would I be if I didn't tease you a bit?"

"I know, I know, look, Parker and I are from two different worlds. I don't think it would work between us, not long term. Right now I keep fuckin' up and she gets hurt one way or another; we're makin' circles."

"Eliot, I know the truth hurts, but the truth will set you free."

"I know that, dammit! But now just isn't the time to go off pickin' wildflowers."

"Alright, fine, I'll back off… For now. One day, you're gonna have to make a choice… Your heart or your head. And I hope you'll choose your heart because you deserve to be happy."

"Don't tell me, dad told you to be my matchmaker…"

Beretta was quiet for a few heartbeats and it worried him.

"Brett? Still with me, darlin'?"

"Yeah, yeah. You didn't want me to tell you…"

"I know he wants us both to be happy. I could tell."

"Eliot, I found my happiness. It's your turn."

"In my line of work, I don't form attachments. Besides, the timing's all bad right now."

"Like I said, I'll back off for now. How are you really doing, after all this so far?"

"I can't say because I don't feel anything. I can't do what I have to do while I'm here. Dammit, it's doubly worse that I'm pinned down by my legs. I can't move."

"What would you do if you could?"

"Pro'lly get drunk and go hit somethin'. Or let someone hit me 'til I start fightin' back."

"No Eliot. Don't do that. I need you here… On this planet. So do a lot of people that can't fight for themselves. Logan and Lily Belle need you here too."

It was interesting as Eliot thought of how he saw himself kind of like Wolverine and his step-nephew was named after him. Wolverine would get drunk and fight when he was upset; the only clear difference was that he didn't have a super-healing gift.

"I'm fine. Really. I'm just tired. It's only almost dinner… Dammit! I forgot to eat lunch," he said and wondered where Parker was.

"We're all gonna get through this. You have to stay strong. I know I said that I thought we wouldn't see my mother again; I know she won't give up, I do know her. We need you strong because I don't want to have to deal with her showing up at my doorstep in California; not with the children. I wouldn't put it past her to kidnap them and hold them for ransom. And now that you got everything, kit and caboodle, she's angry. Mom, when she's angry can be dangerous."

"I'll look into it. Do you know anything about this Enrique?"

"Not really. I've only seen him as he left the house. Mother claimed that he was her masseuse. If he's a real masseuse then I'm a horse."

"I'll look into him too. You have a last name, by any chance?"

"No. But I could look into my mother's things here at the house."

"Yeah, see what you can do. Anything can help; receipts or any phone numbers. I've gotta get something to eat. I'll check in with you tomorrow."

"You get some food and get some sleep, Bro. I'm here if you need me."

"Thanks, Sis."

Everything Beretta had said began to sink in… Lorena could be dangerous if provoked; she could kidnap the children; Enrique, the mysterious masseuse… It all didn't look good. He washed out of his mind what Beretta had said about Parker because he didn't want to walk down that path yet… No, not while his step-mother was on the loose. He thought it was too convenient for her to just donate her belongings on the fly like that. No, his senses told him that she had a plan… Then his stomach growled. Where was Parker? She was usually up on things like that. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen her since they'd gotten back. He guessed his mind had been rather focused on other things, like his father's military funeral…

* * *

Parker had let him go once she wheeled him into the bedroom. She had the door cracked to listen if he needed help. Then she heard another door close and the tell-tale click of the mechanics of the lock as it became engaged. Ha! He was trying to keep her out. She snuck up to the door, and lay down on the floor. Then she put her ear to the open space between the floor and the base of the door to listen in. Of course she only heard half of the conversation. She heard all about Eliot and the decision he had to make where his father's body would spend eternity. She didn't know what it was to have to truly bury your parents. She only knew burying them under a pile of rubble when she blew them up and just walked away. The authorities couldn't make anything stick and she made up such a perfect lie. Anyway, what perked her ear closer was when she heard Eliot say what he said…

**_'Brett, stop. Parker and I work together. We're not sleeping together. Enough. No, we're just friends. If you knew how many different kinds of crazy she is, you wouldn't say that. Parker and I are from two different worlds. I don't think it would work between us, not long term. Right now I keep fuckin' up and she gets hurt one way or another; we're makin' circles. I know that, dammit! But now just isn't the time to go off pickin' wildflowers. Don't tell me, dad told you to be my matchmaker… In my line of work, I don't form attachments. Besides, the timing's all bad right now. Because I don't feel anything. I can't do what I have to do while I'm here. Dammit, it's doubly worse that I'm pinned down by my legs. I can't move. Pro'lly get drunk and go hit somethin'. Or let someone hit me 'til I start fightin' back. I'm fine. Really. I'm just tired.'_**

The thief had no idea what pickin' wildflowers meant, but it sounded like fun with Eliot. No, they weren't sleeping together, but he was in her dreams… What was making circles? What hurt Parker the most, right to her heart, was that he told his sister that she was all different kinds of crazy, that they were from two different worlds, and that it wouldn't work long term. That the timing was bad was an understatement; he didn't feel anything for her and he was going to run once they got back home… She could feel it. No, she wouldn't let him get hit, not while he was still healing. She left him to the rest of his conversation; she didn't need to hear more. There was a break in the storm; it wasn't raining, and Parker took advantage of the moment. She grabbed her jacket and moved out onto the patio. Then she pulled the heavier curtain that blocked out the sun to hide her exit; then she closed the sliding glass door, being careful not to lock it behind her. She took the chair next to the little table at the far end of the patio and turned it so that her back was to the door. Parker decided to watch the storm pass and the gorgeous sunset it would produce.

It seemed like he was trying to run from her the more she tried to show him that she cared for him more than just friends. Parker needed to find a reason to stay… To hang on and keep fighting for Eliot's heart. A heart that was numb and couldn't feel; his words burned into her brain. The poor thief was fighting an uphill battle with him and when Parker wanted something she fought hard until it was hers. She didn't give up… And she wouldn't give up on Eliot now. She looked down at her rose quartz bracelet and there were only about three stones left with pink in them. Oh! She just had to hang on until the full moon ritual, that would set things right. Maybe those three stones were what caused her to keep from running too far, like back to the roof. The sunset was beautiful and she missed getting to watch them from her former warehouse's roof. She felt something on her face and wondered if it was about to rain again, when she felt whatever it was, come again from her eyes. Parker let the emotion of the day out; emotion for her friend… Eliot Spencer. Maybe her tears were the emotion that Eliot couldn't feel because he was numb; the crying he was supposed to be loosing to feel better… She would do that for him if she could. The important part was that she wasn't going to give up on him in his non-grieving mode…


	58. Chapter 58

**A/N - Eliot deals with the aftermath of the conversation with Beretta and Parker... Well Parker is Parker...**

**ENJOY and please REVIEW!**

* * *

After turning the chair around, Eliot let himself out of the bathroom and went to the phone next to his bed. He stopped and ordered dinner for him and Parker from room service. He sighed as he turned around again and headed for the bedroom door.

"Parker?" He called as he pulled the door open; there was no answer…

Then he rolled out to the living area. The television was off; the hide-a-bed couch was empty… He couldn't recall hearing a door slam of her leaving. Still not good signs… Then he noticed that part of the white curtain was stuck in the sliding glass door; the black-out curtain had been pulled… Why? The sun was still up, though not for much longer. He rolled up to the sliding glass door and pulled back the curtains, there was Parker. Her back was to him and he couldn't see her face, but he knew that she had been crying by the way he watched her dab her eyes with a tissue. She was upset… That was definitely a bad sign… He wasn't sure what he'd done this time… How could he have done anything to make her that way? He'd been on the phone taking care of business and then talking to his sister. Then the idea popped into his head… What if she'd been listening to him in the bathroom? He sighed, dammit Parker! Eliot figured out that if she had, it might explain what he was looking at. Otherwise, he had no idea why she was upset. He hoped that the chocolate pancakes he ordered for her for dinner would help to put her in a better mood.

Eliot picked up enough of the curtain and tried to throw it away from him so that he could see out onto the patio better. Then he opened the sliding glass door…

"Dammit Parker, what are you doing outside? It's gonna rain; it's cold out there… You tryin' to get sick?"

The hitter spoke out of frustration and he supposed that his blood sugar must have been off; that could do things to a man if he hadn't eaten since breakfast. He didn't mean for it to sound as harsh as it came out… He watched as she sat up as if she had a rod for a spine and wiped her eyes.

"Come on inside, dinner's on the way," he uttered much softer. "And we have to talk…"

He backed out of the way so that she could come in, but she didn't immediately follow… He decided to let her stay at least until the knock came for dinner. Eliot began to feel the strain of moving himself around the room. He moved to a chair at the small table in the corner and took care of transferring his body into the soft chair. His butt was glad for the comfort of the chair provided and to be out of the wheelchair for a little span of time.

* * *

Parker knew it would only be a matter of time before Eliot would find her. And that he had… But she wasn't going to go in on his terms, no, she was going to wait until the sun set for the day, and not a moment sooner. He left the glass door open for her but she wasn't ready. She still was going through the thoughts she had reserved to think about once they got back to the hotel. Parker had overheard what his father said had to have not only deeply wounded Eliot because of the time that had passed between them, but also caused some confusion as to what he was going to do with his future… She hoped that his future was with her…

'Ha, me tryin' to get sick? No, just watching the sky get painted… Here's your sign, Eliot.' She randomly thought as she sat out there.

The thief stood and adjusted her coat once the orange yellow ball disappeared, red, white and gray clouds passing in the sky. She sighed and decided to go in and face the music. Parker looked at the floor as she'd closed the sliding glass door behind her and then turned to the right before she rearranged the curtains to get ready for the evening. She got a surprise when she turned back around; Eliot had gotten out of his chair somehow and ended up in a hotel chair near a small table. Just as she was about to ask him if he was alright sitting in the chair with two casted legs or did he need to prop them up, someone knocked on the door. Parker went to answer it; she stopped and checked to make sure it was room service. Once she saw the cart, she let the person in. Any room service that was ordered was covered by the team's business expense account, which was managed by Hardison and Nate. The check was already covered so Eliot just had to scribble on it. She secured the door once the server left and then she took care of transferring the two trays of dinner to the table Eliot was already seated at.

"Go ahead without me. I have to change," she said and grabbed a t-shirt and sweats from her backpack before she disappeared into the bedroom.

* * *

Eliot didn't know what her tears had been about; surely they weren't for him… Could they? Maybe they were because he'd slept with Bunny last night… But that didn't seem likely, because she gave him permission to take the stuffed animal to bed the night before. They couldn't have been because she had been scared of standing up to his step-mother; Parker was fearless in that respect. Who really knew what went on in her head? He lifted the pressed plastic cover over his food; the steam just puffed out from the food, signaling that it was still warm. He had ordered a steak medium rare, not too bloody, halved young red potatoes roasted in olive oil and spices, petite green beans steamed and seared with a little vegetable oil, and spices. He covered his meal back up and waited for the thief anyway. Sometimes he could be an ass, but he took care in what he ordered for Parker for dinner after the day they'd had; a small stack of chocolate pancakes. Her meal was just a hair larger than a kid's meal because he ordered a kid's meal for her but had them add extras. He added a bowl of fresh fruit; the fresh cut, not canned with heavy syrup, and cottage cheese. She was already going to be on a sugar high from the chocolate and syrup so he also added a generous amount of bacon and breakfast sausage for her protein. What he hadn't told her yet, was that he had a job for her…

Instead of telling her that he wanted to be alone, he was going to tell her that he needed her to go to his late father's house with Hardison and help to find any information they could collect on Lorena; plus the possibility of getting to break into something. If he knew his dad, there had to be another locked box hidden some place in the house… Maybe even out in his shed where he spent time getting drunk after his mother had died. He hoped Lorena hadn't gotten to anything in there yet. He was going to call Beretta about Parker coming to the house after she left. He hoped that trying to approach her that way wouldn't get her upset again. The redness he saw in her face, just about ripped his numb little heart out. She didn't look him in the eye when she came in; she just looked at the floor as she'd closed the sliding glass door and rearranged the curtains properly. She looked like she wanted to ask him something, but he was saved by the knock on the door. Eliot watched her as she'd served up dinner and grabbed some clothing from a small black backpack, before she'd disappeared into the bedroom for the bathroom. He took notice of the bag and randomly wondered why she'd packed so little… Sophie had come with two large suitcase cases, a toiletries case, and then a whole separate cosmetics case.

Then the random answer came… She had to be ready for anything at a moment's notice. Stopping to pack a large suitcase could get you killed. Abruptly, Parker reappeared in sweats and a t-shirt of her own this time. She must have nicked it when they had been on the job at Value!More! Then memories of the old man he'd worked with popped into his head, which lead to thoughts of his father. He frowned as he placed the cloth napkin on his lap. Eliot mentally kicked himself and changed his attitude so it wouldn't worry Parker. He waited as she lifted her cover and weakly smiled as he caught her surprise at the chocolate pancakes. A flash later and she had a frown…

"What?" He asked.

"But they're not yours…"

"I know… Just eat, Parker…"

When that didn't seem to satisfy her…

"Just eat 'em before they get cold… Consider them a down payment."

"Down payment for what?"

"I'll make you some fresh when we get home."

"Promise?"

"Yeah, I promise," and that earned him the Parker smile he was hoping for.

* * *

Parker felt better since she'd gotten out of the dress and into something more comfortable. She was quite surprised to find the meal that Eliot had ordered. But then her taste buds sent the message to her brain that it wasn't Eliot's chocolate pancakes, and that made her sad. He made her beam when he promised to make her some when they got home. And for an instant, she thought of Eliot in her kitchen at the farm, making her chocolate pancakes… Then she mentally kicked herself and dug into the food before it got cold. As she filled her empty belly, Parker remembered that Eliot had said they needed to talk…

"You said we needed to talk… What am I supposed to say?" He put his steak knife down and stabbed a green bean.

"I have an important job I need you and Hardison to do."

"Like what?"

"I need you to take Hardison and go to my dad's to help Beretta find anything you can find on Lorena and this Enrique. Hardison will need his laptop."

"Why?"

"She told me that Lorena can be dangerous if provoked and I wanna know who this mysterious Enrique is. I've gotta protect my step-sister's kids at least until we take care of Lorena. Beretta's afraid she'll discover the grandchildren she didn't know she had and try to take them."

"Could Enrique be one of those Columbians?"

"I don't think so, but my sister doesn't exactly believe that he's just a masseuse."

"And what are you gonna do?"

"Dammit Parker, what do you think I'm gonna do? Watch porn like Hardison? I'm going to rest. I have a headache."

"'Kay, but you have to let me do something before I go."

"What?"

"I'm not telling."

"Dammit Parker!" He sighed and gave in so that he could finish his meal and she was happy with that.

* * *

Just when he thought he was going to get away with his plan free and clear… She caught him. He knew she might try and put some conditions into his plan he hadn't planned on. Like maybe having a babysitter watch over him whilst she and Hardison were gone. She had agreed to let him alone but so far it sounded only like one condition… And she wouldn't tell him what it was! They finished their meals in relative quiet. Then Parker stood, helped him up with one arm across her shoulders, and the other around his waist. She walked him across the room, the cast part moved across the carpet slowly, and one hip at a time until they reached the hide-a-bed couch. She helped him to gently sit in the middle and put his casted legs up on the seat cushion. She left him for a minute to go into the bedroom and when she came back, she had the extra pillow off his bed, a blanket from the closet, and a small glass of water with a couple small white pills in her hand. He didn't take much urging and he took the offered medicine. Then he relaxed back and she covered him up with the blanket. She disappeared from his vision and then she came back with Bunny and tucked him into his left shoulder. Then she tucked them both in and turned out the light.

"Why'd you just do all that," he asked as he got sleepy.

"Because I don't have to… Because I'm your friend… Sweet dreams," she said softly as she opened the door… And then it closed with a soft click…


	59. Chapter 59

**A/N - Awww, last chapter for today... More coming. I am uploading the rest of them to safe time but they come out on FABULOUS FUNDS FRIDAY!**

**Savor it and please REVIEW!**

* * *

Parker went down the hall to Hardison's room and knocked. Took him a few minutes, but he finally came to the door.

"Hey mama, what's up?"

"Get your computer, we have a job."

"Huh? What job?"

"Eliot needs you and me to go to his dad's house and help Beretta find junk on Lorena and her mysterious boyfriend. He could be a Columbian you know…"

"Sure, uh, gimme a few minutes."

"Meet me in the lobby. I gotta go get the keys from Nate. Let 'em know where we're headed."

"You got it."

* * *

The door closed after Hardison answered. She turned and went to the elevator. Parker rode up to the posh floor where Sophie and Nate had their room. She knocked on the door and then heard some laughing by Sophie. The door abruptly opened and Nate looked rushed, his dress shirt open to the third button and his hair a mess.

"Parker?"

"Hardison and I are goin' on a job. Don't know how long it will take. Gotta help Eliot's step-sister find junk on her mama. Eliot thinks the guy she cheated on Eliot's dad with might be a Columbian…"

"What's goin' on, darling?" Sophie said as she tied the sash on her silk robe from Japan around her waist.

"Parker and Hardison are going out to see Mrs. Winchester this evening."

"Eliot said Lorena can be dangerous if provoked. He's worried for Beretta's family," Parker added.

"Do be careful," Sophie said as she went to the little kitchenette to make some hot tea.

"Don't know how long we'll be gone. Could you guys look in on Eliot in a few hours? He's sleeping on the couch. He might need help getting to the bedroom or bathroom later. I hope to be back by then."

"We'll check in with him in an hour. Hardison left a spare key for your room here when we checked in."

"That's good… I think I forgot to leave him a phone."

"It's okay. You better get going."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

* * *

Parker met Hardison and they headed out to the house via a GPS locator. He'd left behind a button sized receiver under the chair he'd sat in when he was last there. They followed the signal easily to the house without having to call for directions. Parker had fun with playing with the doorbell and annoying the occupants of the house. Beretta came to the door…

"Hello," she didn't sound irritated.

"Eliot sent us. Said we needed to help you find junk on your mom. Columbians could be involved…"

"Columbians involved in what?" Colt said as the two people entered the living room.

"Just lead us to the bedroom your mother stayed in or if you have her stuff together, lead us to it," Parker ignored Colt.

"We need to check out your mama's boyfriend…"

"But what does that have to do with Columbians?" Beretta said as she sat on the couch.

"If your mama's boyfriend has ties with organized crime, there's a possibility your family and Eliot could be in hot water," Hardison said as he set his laptop up on the coffee table.

"Where'd she go?" Colt asked.

"That's Parker…" Alec commented as he started pulling up the sites he needed.

* * *

"His name is Enrique Villareagos," Parker announced as she came back into the living room, half an hour later.

"Thanks mama," and Hardison was off, feverishly typing into illegal programs to get the information they needed.

Parker sat on the floor near Alec as he typed away. Within a few minutes he had information…

"Yawl want the good news or the bad news first?"

"Good news," Beretta spoke.

"He's not Columbian."

"And the bad news?" Colt said as he stood behind his wife.

"Bad news is; he's more than just a masseuse. He's involved with a drug cartel out of Brazil."

"Crap. What do we do now?" Beretta stood from her chair and began to pace.

Parker stood and went to her as Hardison began to pack up…

"Now, you let us do our jobs," she spoke kindly to the worried mother of two small ones.

"Keep us in the loop if she shows up here… God forbid, if either of them show up here," Hardison said as he joined Parker.

"Frank kept a shot gun in a secret compartment in the closet," Beretta headed to the front door.

"Hopefully, it won't come to that," Colt said as he went to go hold his wife.

"If anything happens, we'll call Eliot," Beretta voiced as she turned the doorknob.

"No, not tonight. Call our friend Nate or my number," Parker uttered.

"Why not?" Colt wanted to know.

"Because he needed some rest tonight. I gave him something after dinner to help him relax."

"That's okay; I have your number and Nate's. Those will do. Let me know how he is tomorrow."

Hardison went out to the car and started it up. Parker turned to Beretta while they were on the front step.

"I don't think he did so well today. He says he's numb and it worries me; especially when we get home. He might try to disappear and lick his wounds alone. Can't let him do that. I'll let you know as soon as I can."

"Thanks, Parker."

The thief turned around and as she went to the car she heard Beretta say…

_**"She is so good for him. I wish he could see it."**_

'So do I,' Parker thought as she opened the Suburban's door.

* * *

When the team of two returned to the hotel, Hardison headed off to his room to start the background work for the meeting they had planned for after breakfast. Parker went to her shared room with Eliot. She quietly snuck in and found Sophie was there. She had cleaned up the dishes they'd left from dinner, because the thief had seen them outside the room. The grifter remembered to put the wheelchair close for Eliot if he needed to use the loo. She was sitting in the Queen Anne chair by the lamp that was near the sliding glass door; reading a book. Parker held her finger to her lips and then pointed to the bedroom. The grifter stood and followed the thief into the bedroom, before she closed the door behind her.

"You're back," Sophie whispered. "Did you find anything?"

"Plenty, but we'll meet after breakfast to go over what Hardison has."

"He woke up for a few minutes and called out for you when I arrived and he went back to sleep when I told him I was just checking up on him for you. He's been asleep since."

"Good. Go ahead and get back to Nate. See you in the morning."

"Night Parker. By the way, what's with Eliot and your Bunny?"

"Nothing, you didn't see that, you must be confused," Parker tried to cover up.

"I see. No, I guess I didn't see that."

"Good, because the Vulcan Mind Meld Hardison taught me isn't very good."

"Parker, you realize that was just televisional fiction right?"

"You try telling Alec that…"

* * *

Parker slipped off her ballet flats by the television stand and went back into the bedroom once Sophie left. She pulled the hair bands out of her hair and it fell just slightly beyond her shoulders. Then she pulled back the covers; Eliot must have made the bed before they left that morning. They both had left the do not disturb sign on the door. She curled up where Eliot slept and pulled the covers up to her chest. Parker turned her head and stuck her nose in Eliot's pillow where his head rested; it still smelled like him. She sighed and perhaps the next day would be better; not too many sad things. This new thing that was coming up with Lorena worried her. She was provoked and angry when she left the lawyer's office and Enrique Villareagos was connected to a drug cartel in Brazil. What if she talked him into exacting her revenge on Eliot and Beretta Winchester's family? Maybe even her for yelling at the woman. Right now they would most definitely be sitting ducks. Eliot with his injuries and Beretta at his late father's house, not to mention the little ones back at home with Colt Winchester's parents. They needed to come up with an air tight trap for Lorena and Enrique. Maybe turn them against each other… Had she promised this man money before her husband died? Maybe they could catch her on drug trafficking or set her up to have stolen money from the cartel. Parker sighed again and closed her eyes. Soon she was asleep…


	60. Chapter 60

**A/N - WELCOME to the new readers, followers, and new favoriters!**

**Can you believe it? We're at chapter 60 already!**

**A/N - There's a little plot twist in this chapter that really seemed natural to me so I thought I would put it in considering the way Franklin Spencer died. I just know you're all going to love it.**

**Today you get two chapters and then we'll see what happens on MONEY MONDAY!**

**So, ENJOY and DEVOUR the new chapters! And please REVIEW! **

* * *

Eliot must have been dreaming when he thought he heard his father calling his name. He answered his father in his dream.

"Eliot, son, come with me for a while," Franklin Spencer spoke.

The son met the father and they walked together along a gray concrete sidewalk. The sun was up and blue sky above; very cartoonish…

"Son, I came to help you…"

"Help me how? Dad, you don't have a body."

"Apparently, you are my unfinished business, kiddo."

"I don't understand…"

"Come on son, yes you do. I can't cross over until I help you."

"No, my mind is creatin' this."

"Eliot, I am your father. I came to help you any way I can until I am called to cross over."

"But, but how can you help me?"

"If I remember right, Lorena had a personal bank account separate from the joint account we had. So she'd got a second source of income. No doubt she's probably drained both by now. She'd started to drain our account and I had to tap into the business account to keep the joint account open; claimed it was for putting food on the table, her massages, and to keep her lookin' good. I tell you boy, we never ate somethin' home made with that woman. Lorena went out and brought home fast food just about every night; used to pretend she cooked it. 'Course I'd find the containers in the trash later. Anybody can tell the difference between KFC and real fried chicken. No wonder I got sick. The amounts coming out of the joint account kept getting higher and higher. That's when I had her followed and found out about her secret lover. I had to sell it to keep her from getting more money. Once I sold it, I set up the funding for Logan and Lily Belle. Now, you need your rest. Sleep well, son."

"Dad?"

"Sleep Eliot, I will return."

* * *

Instead Eliot opened his eyes. He sat up and found the wheelchair nearby. He didn't recall that Sophie had been there, but he did remember the things his father had said in his dream; however just the fact that his dad came to him in a dream was so surreal. And he said he would return… If the information the ghost of the man he knew was true, it could help him and the team get rid of Lorena. More pressing was the liquid sitting in an over-filled bladder. He hadn't been to the bathroom since… Well, since he'd last talked to Beretta. Then he was reminded that he had planned to call her about Parker and Hardison's arrival. Oh well. The clock on top of the television cabinet said it was already four in the morning. Eliot picked up one leg at a time and put it on the floor. Then he pulled the wheelchair closer and locked it in place. With his left hand he held onto the chair for balance in order to stand. Slowly, he lifted one leg between the foot rests and shifted his hips before he landed on the seat with a grunt. It wasn't long before he had rolled quietly into the bathroom where Parker's nightlight greeted him from the wall. Fortunately, Hardison had gotten them a handicapped room. The bathroom was large enough to turn around in the wheelchair and there were handlebars everywhere he saw.

Eliot closed the door as quietly as possible before he maneuvered himself onto the toilet. After his needs were taken care of and sent on their way, he noticed that Parker was sleeping in his bed, on his side of the bed even and her face was practically buried in his pillow. He stayed there in his wheelchair and watched her in the dim light of the nightlight; her face was turned toward the bathroom so it was slightly illuminated. He watched her from the end of the bed; his back to the bedroom door. The memory of seeing her dab her eyes returned in his mind's eye… And then he'd remembered what she said…

"Because I don't have to… Because I'm your friend…"

Parker had been a better friend than he'd ever been to her. She'd seen him through so much and there was still more to come. She'd even stood up to his step-mother without stabbing her with a pen. Guilt began to tear at his chest to get to the heart he could have sworn was numb. He didn't know if there was anything he could ever do to make up for the friendship she'd shown him. Beretta's words to him came up…

"Yeah… Sure. She's been with you all this time hasn't she? She's been closely helping you get well and she got you here as soon as she could to make sure you could be with our dad... I think Parker's in love with you… I know the truth hurts, but the truth will set you free. One day, you're gonna have to make a choice… Your heart or your head. And I hope you'll choose your heart because you deserve to be happy."

Eliot began to consider things as he looked back on things so far. The way she'd touched him in the hospital, the way she waited on him hand and foot. The way she'd babied him with tucking him in… The way she'd gotten upset and run away to the roof… He couldn't tell if it was friendship or love because it was Parker and she wasn't normal. He didn't think it was love, because dammit, she'd just gotten over releasing Hardison out into the herd… And then he'd gone and married another filly. If Parker was in love with him, then that made him the rebound guy… Dammit! Rebound guys were the ones women screwed for a while and then dumped just when the poor man was getting attached. He didn't want that… Not with Parker. She was too special to him for him just to be a rebound guy. Oh hell, did she even understand what rebound guys were? Had Sophie ever mentioned the concept? But that wasn't the issue… The most important part was on his part. How did he feel about Parker? Was he in love with her? No, but she had a special place in his life. But like he told his step-sister, the timing was bad to examine getting involved with Parker. He kept hurting her in one way or another and that was no way to start a boyfriend and girlfriend relationship… His duties of dealing with where his father's body would spend eternity were almost over. And then when he got home, he was going to ring a doctor's neck to get them to take the damn casts off.

The clock on the bedside table said it was a little after five in the morning. He turned the wheelchair around and went back out to the couch. It was only a few more hours until sunrise anyway. He traveled from the chair and onto the soft cushion on the hide-a-bed. Eliot lifted one leg at a time back onto the couch and then covered back up, but Bunny stayed on the coffee table.

* * *

In the morning, Parker woke up on her tummy. She started to stretch like a cat; her fingers reaching for the edge of the bed above her head and her butt was up in the air with her knees on the mattress. Once she was satisfied that her spine had been stretched; she got up and padded in to the bathroom. Her feminine needs taken care of; then she stalked into the main room so she wouldn't wake Eliot. She went for her backpack and disappeared into the bathroom to change her clothing. Her jeans didn't smell too bad so she deemed them wearable for one more day before she put them on. She just left the shirt she slept in on. Her hair got redesigned and up into a high ponytail. Parker stopped a minute and looked at herself in the mirror. She could see the worrying was starting to wear on her face. Worry over Eliot and now some worry over the new findings with Lorena Spencer and Enrique Villareagos. What if the couple conspired to kidnap Eliot for a ransom or worse, they'd kill him for ruining Lorena's life. No, no, she wouldn't let that happen. Now, off to get Eliot up and food.

* * *

Eliot was already awake and just played Mr. Lazy Bones while waiting for Parker to come into the room. So many things were on his mind. So far, there were no emergency calls from Beretta. So that meant Lorena hadn't tried anything at the house overnight. He needed to get up and get to Hardison about finding out about the accounts that Lorena had. They could probably get the money she stole back into his father's estate. He wondered if there was a pre-nuptial agreement. He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard movement in the bedroom.

"Parker?"

"Yup." Good, she was still with him.

"What about last night?"

"Found some stuff. What do you wanna eat?" She avoided his question with one of her own.

"Dammit Parker, I don't wanna start that kind of shit this morning. Just tell me," he was irritated but he tried not to fly off and yell at her.

"It can wait until after you eat. Now, up with you. Need to get dressed."

He didn't know why she was avoiding him. Was it that bad? Of course Hardison would be working on the details all night; he just thought she'd want to share anything they found right away. Eliot sighed as he sat up, it felt like a long day already and he just woke up. He moved his legs off the couch and he managed to get himself up into the wheelchair on his own. God, he was still a bit sore. Parker held the chair for him and when he was safely seated, he unlocked it.

"I can get dressed on my own, Parker. You order," he told her and then started to slowly turn himself around to head to the bedroom.

* * *

Parker was left to wonder where the sudden independence streak came from. Was he mad at her for her not sharing and was getting back at her? She just wanted to wait to jump into the real world after they had gotten to eat something. Besides, Hardison would have all the details for them after they ate. Why was he in such a hurry to find out what they found out last night? Okay, so he wanted to get dressed on his own. Fine, she'd let him; but she couldn't deny that it hurt a little. She ordered cereal for herself and a Denver omelet for Eliot with a form of pork product. And then she went over to the in-room coffee maker and added water before she opened a packet and pulled a flat pack like thing out and put it where a filter should have gone. She closed it and turned it on. Ten minutes went by… No sounds of movement in the bathroom. She waited another ten and coffee was ready. Parker decided that it was time to check on Eliot. She lightly tapped on the door and there was no answer… She opened the door to peek a little and saw that Eliot was still in his wheelchair staring at the mirror. He looked lost in space… And rather white as a sheet.

"El-iot, you okay?" She spoke in a kind of sing-song way and it garnered no answer.

She turned the wheelchair toward her to look in his face. She was really worried at what she saw in his eyes. There was a kind of shocked look there.

"Eliot, stay with me. Eliot, come on. Stay with me; tell me what you saw."

"M… My dad."

"Your dad? What about him?"

"Was… Here, in the mirror…"

"Okay, hold onto that thought. I'll help you get dressed and get you some coffee. You'll feel better soon."

She went down on her knees before him and unzipped the side of the pant leg up to the thigh. Then she put his casted leg through the top of the exercise pants before she pulled the zipper back down towards his ankle. Then she did the same thing with the other leg. By the time she'd finished doing that, Eliot got back to himself and helped her by standing and pulling the pants up over his black boxer briefs.

"You okay now?"

"I'm fine," he said, but she knew he was lying.


	61. Chapter 61

**A/N - To the reader that wanted MORE charges... You just might get your wish...**

**HAPPY FABULOUS FUNDS FRIDAY!**

**I hope you all like this and let us know! ENJOY and see you on MONEY MONDAY! Please REVIEW!**

* * *

'Oh hell,' Eliot thought.

He wasn't fine; he'd just seen an apparition of his father in the bathroom mirror, right behind him. He remembered that his father said he would return. Eliot had felt the man's hand on his shoulder as they looked at each other in the mirror. And then he suddenly disappeared… Right after that Parker was there with him asking if he was okay. The hitter didn't believe in ghosts… Yet he'd just seen one. Now that his father had shown up like that; the words he spoke last night in his dreams had to be true. Lying to Parker seemed to be the best option until he could figure out what the hell had just happened. Eliot caved and let Parker help him get dressed. She gave him a t-shirt from the dresser and he put it on himself.

* * *

Parker wasn't sure what was going on with Eliot. It was kind of strange that he would say that his father was there in the mirror when she didn't see anything herself. She wanted to call him, 'Silly Eliot,' but considering the stress he'd been under lately; she was hoping he wasn't cracking at the seams. He couldn't become crazy like her. No, Eliot had to be the sane one because he was her rock when she was falling apart. But then again, she was his friend. She was supposed to be his rock if he was falling apart. After breakfast and some coffee for Eliot, things seemed to be a little better between them, although he didn't want to talk about what happened in the bathroom. Parker shrugged her shoulders and saw to getting him to Nate and Sophie's suite. She knocked on the door and Sophie got it with a toothbrush closed up in one side of her mouth.

"Sorry darlings… Got a late start. Come on in."

The thief pushed the wheelchair into the room and parked Eliot by the main sofa. She stayed with him whilst he moved himself from the chair to the couch. She put a long seat cushion from a chair on the all glass coffee table and placed Eliot's casted legs on top so that he'd be comfortable. Another couch cushion behind his back and things were perfect for the hitter. Hardison was already there and typing away getting the latest reports ready. Nate was on a phone ordering breakfast for him and Sophie. She went to Nate and mimed that she wanted some cereal in perfect form, though she'd already had five of those little boxes like she'd once gotten at the hospital whilst she was with Eliot. Parker had been known to kill off a box or two of cereal during briefings, and she was not to go without her cereal for this job. Nate caved and ordered to stop Parker from pestering him further. Sophie came back out and greeted everyone once she'd finished with putting herself together. When the grifter took up a seat on the end of the couch, the thief took up the seat next to her and of course, Eliot was on the other end.

"We have to talk, later," Parker whispered to Sophie.

"Sure," the woman answered before Hardison popped up in front of the three on the couch.

* * *

"This job got a bit more complicated last night, folks. Been up all night on this. Enrique Villareagos is involved with the El Serpiente drug cartel in Brazil."

'Fuck,' Eliot thought.

"It seems the dude's got a brother, Anthony, 'Tony,' to his friends; a father, Carlos, and an Uncle Manuel involved in the same operation. His grandfather, Raoul is the head. He started the whole business. Their wives just like to spend the profits and show off to other women from other cartels. Enrique is the only unmarried one. Yawl, he a player. He's Don Juan and Tony Montana in one… He masks as a masseuse and gets clients hooked. The deals happen while he's in their homes, offices, or hotels; wherever his clients choose to meet."

"Where is he now," the recovering hitter wanted to know.

"Rio, on vacation with the former Mrs. Spencer."

"And you're sure about that?" Nate asked.

"Yeah, I watched the satellite feeds all night after we got back from the house."

"What do you have on Lorena Spencer?" Sophie asked.

"The wicked witch of the Midwest's been movin' money from the joint account for years; it seems, into her personal account. She's somehow already closed the joint account and cashed out the other one to fund the trip she's on now."

"She must have forged a financial power of attorney then," Nate said as he got up to answer the door that had just been knocked upon.

He checked and let the man with the cart in. Breakfast had arrived. Parker stood and back-flipped over the back of the couch so the two others wouldn't have to move. She snatched up her five more boxes of high sugary cereal and danced her way back to the couch. Sophie had moved to go get something to eat so Parker didn't have to resort to gymnastics to get around her. Just as the grifter was about to take a bite of the fresh made butter croissant, Nate yelled at her to put it down. There was something wrong. He'd just picked up the plate that contained his breakfast and smelled. There was something off… Normally, scrambled eggs should smell like scrambled eggs. She put down the food and Nate took his plate to Eliot.

"Is this what I think it is?"

"It's just eggs man," Hardison said as he looked at Nate.

* * *

Eliot took the plate and smelled the scrambled eggs…

"Yes, dammit. It's cyanide, smells like almonds."

"Someone's trying to poison us, darling?" Sophie was confused.

"Beretta warned me, Lorena can be dangerous if provoked," Eliot voiced.

"We'll have to go out for breakfast this morning. I'll go, darling," Sophie volunteered.

"Not alone," Eliot interrupted.

"Take me with you," Parker offered; they needed to talk anyway.

"All right, we'll be back," Sophie spoke as Nate handed her the team's credit card.

As soon as the women were gone, Eliot cut loose.

"FUCK! This whole thing is turnin' into a damn nightmare!"

"Well, now I can add attempted and pre-meditated murder to the list of charges we're gonna rope Lorena with. All she gotta do is just hang herself with the slack-a-rope we're givin' her."

"Pre-meditated… I don't think that will stick. We're not sure Sophie and I were the intended targets," Nate said as he sipped coffee he knew wasn't poisoned.

"So what are we gonna do, Nate?" Hardison asked as he went to his computer.

"Don't know yet. If we move to Eliot's father's house to protect Mister and Misses Winchester, then we'd be putting ourselves at greater risk for an attack of some kind."

"They could blow up the house or burn it down," Eliot offered.

"We'll stop them before that happens, Eliot," Nate tried to reassure the hitter. "How long do you think it would take to take the things you want out of the house?"

"If there's anything I actually want. Half an hour, tops. Why?"

"Good, because here's the plan. We are going to check out of here. It's become unsafe. We're going to take you and Parker to the house. Parker's sticky fingers should be able to help you. Sophie and Hardison will come with me and we'll find a new place to stay. We've only got what, two days left here?"

"About that…" Eliot started. "Make it about a week longer. I've gotta stay to see to my dad's cremation and then I can go home. We're still doing the services on Saturday."

"Services?" Nate headed for the small bar in the room to add the Irish to his Irish coffee.

"Yeah, one for the public in the mornin' and then a private family one for Brett and I later on in the afternoon. I'll be dropping him off on Monday as soon as I contact a crematorium. I've already talked with her and she wants to take Franklin to California to be with her. I'll deliver him when I see her for Thanksgiving."

"Listen, Alfie is in real estate. I might be able to get her to unload the house after you and your step-sister is done with it. S'up to you, man."

"Thanks, who's Alfie again?"

"My beautiful bride; she's bringin' her parents to Portland for Thanksgiving so they can meet me."

"Dammit Hardison!"

"What?"

"You don't just get married without meetin' her parents…"

"You know he has to do everything backwards," Nate joked as the Irish was hitting his bloodstream.

"Forgive a rich, young, black man; I ain't as old fashioned as you are Eliot… And as for you, Old Man, you been playin' too long with Sophie's heart. Put a ring on it, dude! Geez already."

"He's got a point, Nate. You should put a ring on it…"

"Yeah, I'll do that when you do the same with Parker," Nate shot back; he could give as well as he got.

"What the hell's that mean?"

"You heard me."

"Parker and I aren't a couple and not even dating, how'd you jump to us gettin' hitched?"

"It's not hard to see Eliot… She's in love with you."

"Yeah man. I second that."

"Yawl are smokin' somethin'. She's not in love with me."

"Then what do you call it?"

"She said she was bein' a friend."

"Ohhh, that's how it starts man… They become your friend. Next thing you know, they wanna move in. Then five years down the road, you've got a mini-van, and five kids with play-dates," Hardison joked.


	62. Chapter 62

**A/N - Hiya gang!**

**It's MONEY MONDAY! **

**This chapter is a little short but I thought it moved the story forward until WALL SAFE WEDNESDAY when chapter 63 comes out.**

**I hope everyone has a good week!**

**A/N - Tracey, there's a surprise for you...**

**ENJOY and please REVIEW!**

**Ps. If you would like your name in this story, drop me a PM or leave it in the reviews. You never know what kind of character you'll end up as!**

* * *

Sophie and Parker walked together into the elevator to exit the hotel…

"What did you wish to chat about, dear?"

"Wait 'til we get food."

"All right."

So the grifter waited and the two women found themselves a diner a block away from the hotel. They walked quickly because it had started to sprinkle rain on them. Inside, Sophie spotted a couple empty spaces at the counter and she gravitated to one. She took a seat and grabbed an available menu. A waitress came up to her a bit rushed because of the to-go orders for those that had to go back out into the rain.

"Hi, name's Tracey, what can I getcha?"

"Hello, I just need a moment to look over this delicious menu."

"Just gimme a holler when you're ready." Sophie looked at Parker; the thief was studying the menu.

Tracey walked away because a steak and eggs order to-go was up.

"Sure. What would you like Parker?"

"I wanna try a chili omelet. No cheese though."

"It will have to be to-go because Nate and the others are waiting."

"'Kay. Are you ready to order?"

Sophie nodded, 'yes'.

"TRACEY, WE'RE READY TO ORDER OUR FOOD," Parker suddenly yelled at the top of her lungs.

Several people stopped eating and looked up at the blond woman. The grifter shook her head and then touched the thief's forearm with a tap…

"Parker, you didn't need to do that, darling."

"She… Said to holler when we were ready," Parker said in her inside voice and made it out to be the waitress' fault.

* * *

Tracey hurried up by handing the cash and the bill to another waitress to ring up the man who'd bought chicken and waffles.

"I'm at your service, what can I get ya?"

"I need poached egg over buttered toast and sausage. Then I need scrambled eggs, toast, some of those silver dollar things, and bacon. And my friend here wants a chili omelet without cheese," Sophie began…

"And hash browns."

"It comes with them," Tracey said as she wrote as fast as she could.

"And toast, dry. Um, no, with boysenberry preserves. With the seeds," now Parker was having fun.

"And toast with boys and seeds," the poor waitress shortened it to go on the bill. "Anythin' else?"

Parker looked at her strange… What the hell was toast with boys and seeds?

"Yes, two small orange juices and two regular coffees," Sophie added.

"All righty, two oranges and two leadeds," Tracey finished writing and then scurried off to put the order in.

"What did she mean, toast with boys and seeds, and what is a leaded?" She asked the grifter who'd taken a sip of water from a small glass another waitress brought her.

"It's called cooking shorthand, Parker. She shortened the order so the cook in the back knows what to make."

"Well didn't he go to school to know how to cook?"

"Yes, and they teach food shorthand. Ask Eliot to teach you some sometime."

"'Kay. You said you thought the love was waning… What do you think would be a safe move forward with Eliot without being too obvious?"

"Are you sure you want to do something right now, dear? He's still in the middle of dealing with burying his father and we're just beginning to get our job together."

"I still have three days until the full moon. I need something to put in my notebook to energize."

"I think you're going to be too busy protecting the injured link in our chain."

* * *

"Seriously, what should I do? He actually wanted to get dressed on his own today and I let him. But then something happened in the bathroom and then I had to step in and help anyway."

"What happened?"

"Eliot turned white as a sheet and he said he saw his dad in the mirror. I didn't see anything, I thought he was just bein' silly."

"Interesting."

"Think we should tell Nate?"

"No, not yet. Keep me informed if it happens again though."

"Still, is there something I can do that won't trip Eliot's sensors? I don't want to be obvious until we get back to my farm."

"I don't know if I can be of much help, dear. I've been trying things on Nate for years and I still can't get him to commit to anything other than running this team."

"Well, hasn't he committed to take you to Paris several times a year?"

"Not really, I usually have to drag him… He just likes the fashion shows after I've maxed out his credit card."

"You mean like Eliot's fashion shows? Those kind?"

"Yes, Parker."

Parker began to think up ways to do her own fashion show since everyone else seemed to have their own. Well, she didn't care if Hardison had them because he was married. Seriously, why hadn't she thought of doing a fashion show for Eliot before? But maybe she shouldn't because that would be too obvious. And then Eliot might yell at her and there goes the plan to win him to her side. Tracey popped up a few minutes later with two bags and a drink carrier with the two coffees and the two orange juices.

* * *

Soon the pair was on their way back to Nate and Sophie's suite at the hotel. When they arrived, Hardison was busy typing away and Eliot and Nate were planning.

"Oh ho, ho, ho. The cavalry just arrived… Tony, Carlos, Manuel, and Raoul just checked in to the same hotel where Enrique and Lorena are shacked up," Hardison announced.

"The problem is; she's seen us all. She knows what we look like," Eliot spoke up.

Sophie opened her plastic bag and checked the boxes. Then she passed Nate to his as he sat at the opposite end of the couch as Eliot.

"I'll call Tara. Lorena hasn't met her."

"Yes, back up is preferred, but not a whole new team. We can keep Hardison, Parker, and Me. We'll have to get stand-ins for you and Eliot, temporary of course."

"Gee thanks man, I'm touched," Hardison joked.

"I've got some calls to make," Eliot spoke and out of the blue his cell phone rang.

* * *

"Is this Mister Eliot Spencer?"

"Yes. What can I do for you?"

"Mr. Spencer, your father qualified for a military funeral. We will be there at the location you requested when we spoke over the phone some time ago."

"Thank you." To be honest, he'd forgotten that he'd asked them to meet him at the location.

He hung up; buried any feelings he had over what the man had just told him over the phone, and then dialed Quinn's number. He hated to admit it but he was in no condition to take on anybody in the capacity that he needed to.

"Hey, you busy?"

Mr. Quinn was in the middle of disarming a bunch of goons for his current boss, in Florida.

"Nah, not too…" Eliot could hear the grunts in the background and the sounds of fists flying.

"Liar. You want a job?"

"How's the pay?"

"Significantly better than what you're gettin' now, man."

"Where?" The background noise stopped after some gunfire.

"Oklahoma."

"What kind of a job is it?"

"The team needs a back-up and I need a favor."

"Just how bad you out of commission?"


	63. Chapter 63

**A/N - Well, I didn't care too much for the ending of this, but I think you might like it.**

**Otherwise, I know you'll let me know and I'll go back to the drawing board.**

**A/N - There's a surprise in this chapter for everyone... I just don't know what the morning after is going to look like...**

**Oh and sorry there was no update yesterday. This was supposed to come out yesterday...**

**I had a doctor's appointment Tuesday and he manipulated my body in a certain way... I went to walk yesterday and I couldn't because my left sciatic nerve was spasming bad. So I had to rest with a muscle relaxer and a Tylenol. I am doing better today, though it still spasms from time to time. That being said, there will be a back to back update this week. Chapter 64 comes out tomorrow!**

**A/N - If you spot any grammar errors, please send me a PM! Thanks!**

**ENJOY and please REVIEW!**

* * *

"Quinn will be here by tonight," Eliot announced to the group.

"Tara's on her way now," Sophie said as she read the text she got back from Tara and then stood to get rid of her breakfast trash.

"Anything we do is up to Eliot," Nate spoke as he dove into the coffee Sophie brought. "Technically, he's still on sick leave and he's also on bereavement time."

"I wanna stop her from reachin' Beretta and her family in California. Whatever it takes to keep her from finding out about the children would be great."

"I want a plan where we don't use Eliot as kidnapping bait," Parker spoke up, though she was already thinking of offering herself up the same way.

She had gotten all up in the woman's face for yelling and being a meanie towards Eliot. And… She was definitely more limber and able to move than Eliot. Lorena really didn't have a reason to go after Nate and Sophie, or Hardison. It was her and the hitter that were the possible targets. She'd figured out that she'd tried to poison Nate and or Sophie to get to her and Eliot; to draw them out.

"They're talkin' in a room, I don't have ears up yet," and Hardison went back to speed demon typing all over again.

"I wonder if she knows he's got other women on his chain of fools," Sophie commented.

* * *

Eliot was concerned… He saw the look in Parker's face while she didn't know he was looking. She was making plans on her own and he knew he wasn't going to like them. He couldn't afford to let her go off in crazed thief mode and got herself caught, or worse, got her killed.

"Don't she have to come back for the funeral? You know, to keep up appearances?" The thief asked.

"Not necessarily," Nate said. "We have to find a way to make her end her vacation in Rio early."

"I got it, I got it… Age of the Geek, baby!" The hacker went crazy.

"Dammit Hardison!"

"Seems there's gonna be a drop. The Snake and his crew are bringin' in a shipment of cocaine from Chile to Los Angeles. Good news is that it ain't coming in until the middle of next month, around the holiday. Bad news, Lorena knows about Beretta's home in Fort Bragg, Californ-eye-ay."

"Fuck!" Eliot yelled.

"I don't know how she found out man. She could have over heard your step-sister call home or checked her out on the net. Wait, wait, according to this, Enrique's family had Lorena and family checked out…"

"Which means they know about the darling children and Eliot's connection to them," Sophie said as she paced a little behind Hardison.

"The drop in Los Angeles is probably their gateway to go up to northern California. We can do something here to get rid of Lorena, Eliot. Or we can wait and catch them all on something worse. Up to you," Nate said before he stood to get rid of his breakfast trash.

"Since my damn fears are comin' true. I think we need to divide and conquer. However, we don't really have anything major on her yet. We don't have enough proof it was her that tried to poison almost half the team, I don't have any proof she forged a financial power of attorney, and I know we can falsify documents, but we need something stronger… Lemme think on it. Tomorrow's gonna be a rough day. I've got to make some important calls and get Logan and Lily Belle with her paternal grand-parents out of that house or they're gonna be sitting ducks. That should buy us some time…"

* * *

"Yes, because we need Tara and Quinn," Sophie decided to move to the window to check the weather.

"What do you want them to do?" Parker asked as she stood behind Nate reseated on the couch.

"Did you, by chance have your father embalmed?" Nate asked Eliot.

"No, I was doing a closed casket service. Why?"

"Was there an autopsy done?"

"Not that I know of, doctor signed off because my father had a DNR. What are you getting at?"

"What if… For argument's sake, your father didn't die of natural causes?"

"You mean; Mean Lorena killed Eliot's dad?" Parker asked.

"How?" Eliot weakly queried.

"Arsenic, maybe cyanide… Slowly to start. Then maybe barbiturates or opioids… Something to have kept him asleep. If she didn't, then she had to have hired someone to do it for her."

"True, and then she'd have gotten rid of the body, quickly, but our Eliot here, showed up…" Sophie went to stand by Hardison."

"If we can prove it, we might have her on the pre-meditated murder of your father and attempted murder of Nate and Sophie," Parker commented.

The thief looked at Eliot and worried that the new information was hitting him hard. He was looking at Parker but his eyes told her that Eliot wasn't all there… She knew that he was lost in thought as he was probably trying to recall and process everything that he'd seen the day his father had died. Time had come to get the hitter back to their room and get him some TLC before he was supposed to endure two services tomorrow. She stood and went to Sophie… She pulled her into the boudoir for a quick chat.

"Eliot needs rest. We'll meet up later here for dinner. We can go to the diner for dinner later. I don't think it's a good idea to order food from the hotel or have it delivered," she spoke lowly.

"Good point, Parker. I was considering having all of us stay here in our room."

"I think we should move hotels and pick different names from the false ones we're already using."

"Perhaps. But we're going home soon so, we should share."

"No we're not. Eliot's staying. He's staying to cremate his father and then we're going home. We might be here an extra week."

"Oh, well then… But if we moved hotels, don't you think someone might track us down to the new location?"

"True. You guys can figure all that out. Let us know later when we meet for dinner. I've got to get him back to our room."

"Yes, Parker, go."

* * *

Parker came back into the room and Eliot was still staring off into space. She mimed that she needed to get Eliot back in his chair to Nate and Hardison. She didn't want to voice it and have the man object to leaving; wanting to stay to plan their plan of attack. Fortunately, Nate got it before Hardison, and they quietly went to work. Soon Eliot was back in the wheelchair and headed back to their room. When the thief got him back in the room, she took him back into the bedroom. Parker put him back to bed, in his clothing and all; then she tucked him in with her Bunny. She didn't like it that he hadn't said anything at all since they'd left Nate and Sophie's. So, she went around to the other side of the bed stripped down to her t-shirt and underwear before she climbed in on top of the sheet. There was the top sheet between the two bodies. She spooned up to the hitter's backside; her face met the back of his head and her left arm wrapped around his waist. Her other hand began to caress his scalp in straight lines as she waited for Eliot to come back to himself and to tell her to get off of him.

* * *

Eliot didn't think it was possible that his father had been killed… No, not the way he saw him die… But then again, he was in the business of making marks believe things that weren't actually true. It would have been more plausible that his father faked his own death to get rid of Lorena. After what his father had told him about her, that seemed closer to the truth. Something didn't make sense to him though, was the motive. Why would she want to kill his father? Was it just because he'd cut her cash cow off? Or was El Serpiente working with another cartel to get back at Eliot by taking down those he loved? He would more by that than Lorena's sticky fingered theory. They didn't have evidence on Lorena but they could create a pattern and documents to get her locked up, but first, they were going to have to use her as bait to get to the drug cartel. Eliot suddenly changed his mind… No, they weren't going to have a public service. The public would have to mourn on their own. They needed to cut things short to get Beretta back to California. So instead, he'd throw the military funeral for Beretta's sake and then Hardison would take her and Colt back home. He'd stick to his plan and take his father into the crematorium on Monday. Why didn't his father tell him that he'd been murdered? Next time he saw him… They were going to have to have a few words together.

Somehow, he'd gone from Nate and Sophie's back to his bedroom. He was comfortable and so relaxed; and he felt tired as his energy level seemed suddenly drained. Why was he back in a darkened bedroom when the clock said that it was just a hair past noon? He suddenly felt the warmth to his back and the softness at his front. He looked down under the comforter and found Parker's Bunny there looking up at him. How the hell'd he get there? Eliot looked just beyond him as he felt something heavy over his stomach. There was a small, very sinewy, pinkish white arm… Who did that arm belong to? He looked out of the corner of his eyes and found his answer… Parker. What was Parker doing in bed with him? Well, true they weren't naked and in bed together… And somehow for the time being, he didn't seem to mind that she was there. He decided to let her stay wrapped around him for a while… Soon, Eliot drifted back to sleep.

* * *

Franklin reappeared in the bedroom where his son was sleeping. He was pleasantly surprised to see that he wasn't alone in that bed. She looked sweet and seemed pretty as a picture, but you never knew once someone opened their mouths. He'd have to meet her sometime… Anyway, he'd come to talk to Eliot about what he'd found out. He had been in the room when Eliot had met with his friends. He'd used one of them to share what he knew. He knew that Lorena had killed him and the doctor had been in on it. He was actually a cousin of Enrique Villareagos, his name was Diego Rodriguez. There was a forged Do Not Resuscitate order and she had slipped a fatal drug dosage to him when she'd last visited him. It worked relatively slowly because she'd injected it into his saline bag that was connected to his I.V. She wasn't smart enough to have put it directly into the I.V. junction were medications were supposed to go. Franklin just slipped away since he was already asleep. He'd used Nate to tell Eliot than reappearing so soon. The boy still took it hard… He wondered how close his son was to the woman he was in bed with. He'd have to ask him later when Eliot was alone. Instead of sticking around, waiting for Eliot to wake up, Franklin went to Rio to haunt his widow…

She would pay for what she'd done to him if it was the last thing he could do. And he was already working from beyond the grave with Eliot's help. Fortunately, when he appeared, Franklin was the kind of specter that was able to use energy to move things. When he arrived in Rio, she was sleeping… So he began to go around her lavish apartment breaking things. Using energy to knock over lamps to break them, he tore her shower curtain, and turned on the water in her bathroom to flood it. If he could ruin things for her, it would bring him much happiness. He sat back and watched her as she went through her apartment having to clean up his messes. She nearly had a coronary when she found out that her vacation home was getting flooded… Then he laughed at her and she heard it but she couldn't understand it…


	64. Chapter 64

**A/N - I don't know why I struggled to write this one...**

**I know it moves the story ahead, but... I'm torn.**

**I hope you like it and let me know!**

**A/N - Have a HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO and a HAPPY FABULOUS FUNDS FRIDAY!**

**More to come on MONEY MONDAY!**

**ENJOY and please REVIEW! Because Parker needs Chocolate...**

* * *

A while later Parker woke up… She'd rolled sometime in the early afternoon and her back had been up against Eliot's back. She was curled up in fetal position with the other pillow on the bed; it smelled like Eliot. Anyway, she carefully stretched her legs and got up to escape to the bathroom. She peeked back at the hitter from behind the bathroom door. He stirred a little but then went back to sleep. Parker closed the door and placed her hands on the rim of the sink. She hung her head and looked at the chrome plating of the stopper anchored in the drain pipe. A sigh escaped her lips before she lifted her head and gazed at her reflection. Was she really up to seeing everything through to the end? It was just supposed to be a simple trip for Eliot to say good bye to his father, and perhaps his troubled past as well. Now they were about to get involved in battling his step-mother and a Brazilian drug cartel. Something had to happen to get everyone's attention to focus on coming to Oklahoma or at the very least away from Eliot's step-sister's home in California… Her job… Her job was to steal things… And what could she steal? She could disappear after the funeral and steal that shipment of drugs coming in to Los Angeles. That might stir up too big a hornet's nest and Eliot couldn't save her.

Okay, what if she waited until Quinn arrived and disappeared with him… Or Tara? She could fight couldn't she? Yeah. That sounded like a better idea… She used her brush and cleaned up some of the rats in her hair before she refastened the hair tie onto a fresh ponytail. She crept back into the bedroom and grabbed her jeans before she snuck out of the bedroom. Leaving Eliot alone was a necessity, but she wasn't going to be gone for long and she wasn't leaving the hotel, so there was not really a need to bother Sophie or Nate to babysit the hitter. Parker quickly dressed and scribbled a note for Eliot and left it by his lamp. She slipped on some flats and headed off to Hardison's room. She needed to see him to get details for her plan without him figuring too much out. If she had to, she'd make him swear to keep her secret plan. Parker could be just as mean as he could if she wanted to be so it was better if he didn't cross her. Hardison answered the door with a twenty ounce bottle of orange soda in hand.

"Where'd you get that?" She asked.

"A dang old vending machine downstairs."

"Got a question…"

"Yeah. Whassup?"

"How long do you think it would take to sell Eliot's house?"

"Don't know, why?"

"I was thinkin', you maybe could ask your… Wife to help Eliot get it sold," saying Wife made her shiver a little and she hoped he didn't notice.

"Well, it's just like when you bought your place. It's gotta go through escrow and we have to get it cleaned out. Make sure any repairs are done… So maybe three to six months of prep-work, and then we'll just have to wait for a buyer."

"That long? No, no, can't wait that long."

* * *

"Mama, what's goin' on in that head of yours?"

Hardison saw that look in her eyes… She was planning something. It was that look in her eyes that reminded him of when she pushed him off the roof of that building.

"You ain't plannin' to somethin' stupid are ya? Eliot's gonna kill me as soon as he gets out of that chair, little Miss Spider Monkey. Now you tell me what ya up to, right now."

"But I can't."

"Why not,

"Because then you'll tell the others."

"Well sue me then, 'cause I care about what happens to ya. Ya don't wanna mess with these guys, Parker. I'm tellin' ya. Don't… Hell, if I gotta I'll beg. See me… This is me… I'm gettin' down on my dang knees for ya, baby. Eliot can't save ya if you get into a mess Parker."

"That's okay. I'll take Quinn with me."

Alec knew he was losing…

"What the hell am I gonna do when the others come after me, Parker? Ah need these hands… Oh man, Eliot's gonna fuckin' kill me," he sighed as he hung his head while he was on his knees. "Alright… I'm in, but you gotta let me help ya plan yo' plan. No sense in me gettin' killed for not havin' the best dang plans in place to get ya out safe."

Parker flashed him that smile that made him want to get to know her and be her friend. There, that was enough. He got her to smile.

"So, whatchu got in mind?"

The thief sat on his bed and began to tell him her plan… Full balls to the wall; no secrets. He knew she was doing so because she trusted him, and it was all for Eliot.

* * *

Lorena was in a nightmare the next morning. She'd taken a sleeping pill and when she woke up, her whole bathroom flooded into the bedroom and the plush carpet was all wet. It was like stepping on soggy cotton balls. She had no clue how the water got left on… And then when she went into the living room, lamps were broken everywhere. Fortunately, she had on her boudoir slippers or she would have bloody feet. She rang for the maintenance guy and a maid service to clean it all up. Then the phone rang…

"Señora Spencer, I did what you asked, where is my money?"

The doctor that signed off on Eliot's father's death certificate hadn't been paid yet. She had planned on money coming from her late husband's estate to cover the cost…

"Just gimme a week. You'll have it."

"You better, Señora… Or I do somethin' you won't like," he spoke with a rich accent that he'd hidden when Eliot was in his presence.

She wasn't scared just yet. She still had some coke Enrique sold her when they arrived. He had given her money to get the apartment as a loan because of the sob story she told him about her step-son had stolen money that was rightfully hers. And he loaned her drugs to sell to make her more money as long as he got his share of the profits. So her mind immediately turned to Enrique and the possibility of getting a bigger loan to take care of the doctor and getting the apartment cleaned. All she'd have to do is sell a few thousand of those little plastic baggies to people in the United States…

* * *

Eliot woke up suddenly when he heard the main room door close. He'd heard the click with his sensitive ears.

"Parker?" He called…

He couldn't think of a time when he'd had a warmer and restful sleep, considering he only slept 90 minutes in intervals. This time, he'd slept almost the whole afternoon. Eliot could almost venture to say that he was relaxed and unstressed… And where was the little thief? She was usually glued to his side… He felt the tingling start in left hand… Parker wasn't in the room and since she didn't respond to his call, she was probably somewhere still in the hotel. He wondered if she'd gone to steal something from the gift shop downstairs.

"Parker?" He called once more…

He turned on the light by his bed and saw the slip of paper.

'Gone to Hardison's room… Will be back with lunch. P.'

Just when did she plan on eating lunch? It was already three in the afternoon. If he could help it, he didn't eat past seven thirty to help keep his weight down. Of course when on a job, that was a different story. During those times he ate at all hours. He sighed as he sat up in the bed and noticed that he was fully clothed. Well, at least they hadn't gone, 'that,' far and he'd behaved himself while asleep. It took some work but he managed to get into the wheelchair on his own. Dammit, things were still so sore… Eliot buried the pain and picked up his cell phone. At least he knew that wasn't tapped because it never left his presence except for maybe when he slept. He dialed Beretta's cell number instead of calling the house phone, just in case Lorena had the house phone bugged.

"Hey, it's me."

"Oh hi, how are you doin'."

"We'll talk about that later. Listen, you want to pick me up and we'll go pick out an urn for Frank?"

"Can Parker bring you?"

"She's not here."

"Oh. What did you do, El?"

"Nothin', she was gone when I woke up. She's with Hardison."

"I see. Well, I can be there in twenty-five minutes or so. I was cleaning out the kitchen."

"Don't touch anything more. Please. There's something you need to know. Instead, just pack your bags and the things you want. You're gonna have to leave the house."

"Okay… That didn't sound mysterious…"

"I'll tell you when you get here. Have them page me."

"Sure. Be there as soon as we can."

"Thanks… And make sure you aren't followed like I taught you."

"Now you're scaring me, El."

"I don't mean to, but be careful."

"Always."

Eliot hit the end button to finish the call. Since he was having Beretta and Colt pick him up, that left the Suburban free for Nate and Sophie to go pick up Quinn and Tara. Sure he could go to the mortuary himself and pick out an urn, but Beretta needed to know what kind of danger she and her family were in. Especially now that the children were in danger. It was a good bet that since they knew about Beretta's home in California, the bad guys were watching it. And if they were watching it, they knew about the children and word could get back to Lorena at any moment. Eliot absent-mindedly wrung his now both tingling hands. Maybe he needed to ask Parker what she did to him to cause the pin prickly feeling he got in his flesh when she wasn't close to him. He began to wonder why she'd gone to Hardison's room… Maybe she was planning something with the hacker and he knew he didn't like it at all… Because, because he couldn't stop her but maybe he could have Quinn look after her in his absence.


	65. Chapter 65

**A/N - Things are happening! Beretta finds out something he'd rather not know and Eliot takes care of some business...**

**BTW, I plotted out Parker's plan and it's gonna be AWESOME!**

**A/N - Parker Muse is changing Monday's tittle to Moola Monday... She liked the way it sounded better.**

**ENJOY YOUR MOOLA MONDAY and don't forget to REVIEW!**

* * *

Beretta stopped cleaning the kitchen sink with dry bleach cleansing powder and left the cleaning gloves on the counter. Colt was packing up the things his wife wanted to keep in a box from her old room. She came down the hall and looked into her room; caught him looking at a picture of her when she was thirteen.

"We've gotta finish up packing up the rental. Eliot wants us to go pick him up and take care of some business at the mortuary."

"Sure. Is there anything more you want?"

"I don't know. We can come back later and get it. Eliot's cool about it, but he's got me worried. He wanted us to make sure we're not followed while we go to pick him up."

"That's odd… Do you think your mother's up to something?"

"It's possible."

"Well, the bags are by the door, I'll go start loading up."

"Thanks honey."

"It's gonna be okay." And somehow, she knew he was telling her the truth and she believed it too.

* * *

True to their word, the Winchesters arrived at the hotel; minus any tails. Eliot had a jacket draped over his shoulders and was waiting in his room. She tapped on the door and he had to help her open the door.

"Come on in, I'm ready."

Beretta moved into the room and stood behind Eliot. She pushed as he held the door open with his casted right leg.

"Here we go. Colt is downstairs keepin' the engine warm. Fortunately, the storm has passed so it's not rainin' everywhere."

It didn't take her long to get to the elevator. Once they were safely inside, she hit the button to go to the lobby.

"You look better than I've seen you in these last few days…"

"I got some rest," he didn't dare mention that he spent part of it in bed with Parker.

"Good, but you could still use more."

"Yeah, sure," he looked at her like she had grown two heads.

Soon they were in the lobby and then out to the waiting vehicle in the carport. Beretta helped Eliot into the back seat and then took up her spot in the, 'Shotgun,' part of the ride as Colt put the wheelchair in the rear compartment. Then the driver took his position and they were off.

* * *

Eliot buckled in, in more ways than one…

"There's somethin' you need to know and there's no easy way to say this…"

"There's only one way, El, spit it out."

"Enrique Villareagos is involved in one of the biggest drug cartel families in Brazil. The masseuse thing is just a front."

"I knew it!" Beretta spoke.

"His close family is involved and so are some of the extended family. Anyway, Enrique had your family checked out. He knows about your residence in California. I'm assuming he knows about the children by now. We're flyin' in friends of ours to help temporarily relocate the kids and Colt's parents to a safe place. They're going to fly with you back to California, wrap things up, and get you to a secret location. You'll all have to lay low there for a while until I let you know the coast is clear."

"What about our jobs? We have bills to…" Eliot cut her off.

"Already taken care of… I don't want you to worry about anything."

He knew the couple would be worried about their finances. The trust funds wouldn't be available to them and they didn't have a whole lot saved to be able to take their family on the lam for God knew how long. He was going to talk to Hardison about it over dinner. Eliot remembered that he hadn't eaten lunch yet… This turned his thoughts to Parker. Dammit! He'd forgotten to leave her a note! He pushed that little tidbit to the back of his mind to get back to business.

"For the time bein', we're not gonna have the public funeral as we devised. We'll just give him his military service for us and then I'll have him cremated as per our original plan. Then you'll go home with our people. Unfortunately, Hardison won't be going with you because we need him here. We're working on a trap for Lorena."

"Oh, I'd love to help with that…"

"No, it's unsafe," Eliot shot her down. "Not with this drug cartel involved, Brett. Your family is in a hell of a lot of danger right now."

The hitter debated telling his step-sister about Nate's theory of Lorena killing his father. If he told her, it would either crush her or worse, give her steam to go and do something incredibly stupid. Ha! She was like Parker in that respect; sane enough to look normal but crazy ran in their veins. Maybe he'd tell her when everything was said and done; Lorena safely in jail for the rest of her life and the drug cartel taken care of permanently.

* * *

Beretta knew there was something Eliot wasn't telling her; she could see it in his face. It looked like it was something bad, but she didn't push him. She assumed it wasn't something she needed to know.

"All right, we'll do what you say, El. I'm sorry this all has turned into such a nightmare for you."

"It couldn't be helped. If I wasn't here, this would all be on you."

"You're right," Beretta took Colt's hand over the center console for support; her head bowed.

* * *

Soon they arrived at the mortuary and she got out to help get Eliot prepped for getting back into his chair. Colt had the vehicle parked and he was already digging around in the back for the metal ride. Colt and Beretta lifted Eliot into the seat because it was easier. Then she pushed him to the front door as her husband locked up the rental. She pushed the button on the door and it automatically opened for handicapped access. She continued to move him forward and they saw an area off to the right where mock ups of coffins and urns lined the walls. Colt took his leave and went to go find someone to talk to and make a pit stop at the restroom. Beretta went to some cloisonné style ceramic urns to make her choice. Some were as large as the length of her arm and some fit in the palm of her hand. But they seemed too fancy. Then she gazed up at Eliot looking over caskets and price tags. A light strip overhead caught another display in its beams. She went to go look at it when Colt came back. He joined her as she was looking at tiny metal, glass, and ceramic jewelry pieces that held small amounts of the ashes of your loved one. There was also a sign for getting ashes turned into diamonds.

"Good afternoon. My name is Calliope, how can I help you?"

"We've come to help pick out container for his father," Beretta spoke and then turned to Eliot, who had turned the wheelchair on his own to see who had entered the room. "And he was my step-father."

"I'm sorry for both of your losses."

"Thanks," Beretta uttered, she turned to look at Eliot and he was at the display where she had first started.

"Did you have anything in mind, Sir?" Calliope tried to catch his attention and failed.

"I think we'll need some more time," Colt voiced.

"Okay, just come find me in my office if you have any questions."

* * *

Eliot had gone to the end of the room and saw the prices on caskets and some of them were just astronomical. It wasn't that he couldn't afford it; he had that in spades, but to spend that kind of money to get a casket for the funeral and then to have to cremate him… It just didn't seem worth it. So, a plain ol' thick cardboard box would do. He heard someone come in and start talking but he tuned her out after she offered her condolences. He moved on to the cloisonné style ceramic urns Beretta had looked at. He considered the ones with the Asian themed designs, but he had no idea what his step-sister's décor was in the home. Eliot didn't want to get something that clashed, but then again, he wasn't the one who would be living with the container. He wouldn't do that to Beretta anyway. The smaller ones caught his eye, maybe one especially for Logan and another special one for Lily Belle. Then he remembered how young they were. What if they got older and it grossed them out to have their step-grandfather in a bottle? No, he needed something simple. Something his dad would appreciate…

The light strip above his head shone down on this display in the corner by the entrance to the room. It looked almost like a redwood or cedar box. It was so golden it looked almost like honey and with the rich hue of the wood it was gorgeous. It was even rounded on the edges; it was simple and soft, not stark and linear in design. It looked warm and inviting; no elaborate designs or inlaid metal strips. There were no hinges on it in the back; just a simple plate at the bottom that screwed in. It would work with kids… Unless they knew how to use a screwdriver, it would be okay. It would only need a good dusting from time to time and maybe some wood polish. He was already thinking of the brands that would be good.

"What's that you have there, El?" Beretta said over his left shoulder.

"Just thinkin' 'bout this. The kids wouldn't be able to get into it."

"Oh Eliot," she started tearing up and had to dab her eyes from the tissue Colt brought her; she took a minute to pull herself back together…

"It's perfect… Frank gave me my first Winnie the Pooh Bear when he and my mother got together. It looks just like a honey pot. I'd like to get it, but it's up to you. Whatever you want is fine."

"We'll get this then."

"I'll go get help," Colt spoke as he left his wife with his step-brother in law.

"Pop owned a hardware store; seemed right that it's this one," Eliot voiced to Beretta alone.

"We'll put it up in high in the den. I packed up as many pictures for the kids as I could find. We'll have to sit down together and write on the back who's in them later."

"Tonight you're going to stay at the hotel with us. Nate and Sophie can put you up in their suite or we can find you room somewhere. It's not safe at the house anymore. Not without backup. We're working on baiting your mother to come back here… So I want you by my side," Eliot said with a deadly serious look on his face that she was not to skirt his orders.


	66. Chapter 66

**A/N - Yes, I wrote tomorrows update as well but it won't get posted 'til FABULOUS FUNDS FRIDAY...**

**Bwhahahaha!**

**A/N - Eliot tries to get information from Hardison. Beretta and Colt move in...**

**A/N - Quinn Muse just arrived in time for the posting at the end of the week.**

**There's gonna be a plot twist you won't expect in a few more chapters... And you'll just have to laugh...**

**Devour this tasty treat and more will be coming... Please REVIEW my lovelies! **

* * *

Fortunately, the box that Eliot found happened to be the only one they had. The company that made them discontinued the design because it wasn't a big seller. Beretta rolled Eliot to the office and he took care of making the arrangements to take his father for the funeral and then to bring him back on Monday for cremation. Then the hitter paid for everything… Calliope brought him back out to the lobby where Beretta and Colt were waiting. The box would be kept there at the funeral home for safe keeping until Monday. On the way back to the hotel, Eliot's stomach growled. Beretta giggled between tears as the sound brought a smile to her face.

"Sounds like someone hasn't eaten in a while," she voiced.

"How observant of you…" Eliot said.

"Do you want to stop and pick up something?" Colt asked.

"No, let's get back. I've spent too long away, anyway."

"It's still a bit early for dinner, honey."

Eliot wanted to just go back to the hotel and crawl into a bottle of anything with hard liquor involved. But he couldn't do that because the team planned to meet for dinner. It was already five in the late afternoon and the meeting would probably start around seven. He could send Parker, Sophie, Beretta, maybe even Tara out for food while the men had a chat; though this was a much different boys' night in than that one when Hurley reappeared. The hotel came up into view faster than he thought it would. Next thing he knew, Beretta was there helping him get back into the wheelchair. And she got him to the elevator and back up to his room before he realized that he'd forgotten the bloody hell room key on the bedside table.

"Change in plans. Let's go up to Nate and Sophie's."

"You sure? Shouldn't Parker be in your room? She could let you in…"

"She's with Hardison…"

* * *

"I see," Beretta could see a slight amount of jealousy in his face even though his eyes didn't meet hers.

Colt took over steering and she headed back to the elevator. Before long they arrived at Nate and Sophie's suite. Beretta knocked… There was some giggling and then Sophie answered the door. Fortunately, she was dressed but her hair was mussed and the top two buttons were undone…

"Oh hi, Eliot darling, what can I do for you?"

"We need to talk."

"Nate, we've got company," she hollered into the room behind her.

Unbeknownst to said company, Nate pulled the two ends together of his jeans and fastened them before he zipped up and stood to greet people. He was a little shaky on his feet but he made it out to the living area of the suite. Colt parked Eliot there by the couch and was helping him get out of it to relax.

"I thought we weren't meeting until dinner," Nate spoke, unsure of what was going on.

"With the situation being what it is, I thought we should move Brett and Colt here to the hotel with us. You have enough room here…"

"You'd like them to stay with us?" Sophie asked and Eliot nodded.

"Colt and I can get a room, if it's too much trouble."

"Nonsense, you'll stay with us. We'll have them bring up a couple extra beds."

"Where's Parker," Nate wanted to know.

"With Hardison last I heard," Eliot replied.

* * *

"No mama, I don't like it. I ain't gonna sign off on any plan where you could get yo'self shot or damn well killed," Hardison said when Parker finished relaying her plan.

She narrowed her eyes at him…

"Eliot and the others would find ways to slowly murder me if I let one hair on your head get hurt."

"That's why Quinn's comin' with me. I have to do this. I'm the only one who can."

"So we're just supposed to sit back and watch you be Wonder Woman? Hell no, girl!"

"You guys focus on trapping Lorena. Tara will be perfect as the Real Estate agent. I know your wife could do the job adequately, but I know you don't want to put her in danger. I wouldn't want you to anyway, Tara can protect herself," Parker said as she remembered parts of the night Sophie and Tara tried to have a girls' night out, only to get wrapped up in an international bomb plot.

"I don't like it… I hate to admit your plan's better than what I had in mind."

"There! See! It can work."

"But what about Nate and Sophie?"

"They can go home with the Winchesters, Quinn, and Tara. They can't help… Lorena's seen their faces and we don't have the equipment here to disguise them."

"So it's you against a drug cartel and a little back up… Nope, still don't like it."

"Stop it, Alec. I can do this. I'm good at what I do… If they catch me, I deserve to be caught. Whatever we do, Eliot is not to know what I have planned."

"Yeah, sure," Hardison sighed.

"Just find a temporary location for him, the Winchesters, Nate and Sophie until I get back. And then Eliot can come with me out to the farm."

"Fine… What do I do if they make me spill?"

"Hopefully, it won't come to that."

* * *

Hardison knew of a quiet little island south of the equator that would be nice to visit that time of year. God, he hated Parker's idea but it was a pretty good one. If Eliot wasn't out of commission he would agree to it because he'd have the thief's back. Nate wasn't going to like it because he didn't think of it himself, and it put Parker in danger. Sophie wasn't going to like it because there was a grift she had to be left out of because the mark had seen her. Eliot wasn't going to like it because Parker was putting her in danger and he wasn't there to protect her. But Lil' Miss Spider Monkey, had thought of that by putting Quinn where the retrieval specialist should be. He didn't trust Quinn, but they'd somewhat worked okay together on another job so, what choice did he have? Every road seemed to lead to Parker getting put in danger and that wasn't a good idea. They were already down one man… Hardison looked up at his computer screen and saw something going down at Nate and Sophie's suite. He had the room bugged since the moment they checked in. He listened in to find out that Beretta and Colt were now camping out in the mastermind and grifter's room. Eliot began to talk about what plans he had…

"Something's going down upstairs. We should go."

"Yeah… Seriously, I can do this…"

"I know. I just don't have to like it."

* * *

"Brett, there's something you need to know," Eliot began.

"You already told us earlier…"

"Not this… I didn't want to mention it, but since you're gonna be here for the meeting… You should be brought in the loop."

"Oh. This is what you didn't tell me earlier that I saw in your face isn't it?"

"Yeah," fortunately she was already sitting down.

"Brett, there's a very real possibility your mother killed your step-father and my father."

"You wanna run that by me again?"

"We are right now, going on the assumption that Lorena killed Mr. Spencer, and there was a cover up," Nate stepped in to help. "Our team is working on getting the proof."

"Oh My God," Beretta cried out.

She grabbed onto Colt's hands for support. Eliot could see that she was shaking. God he hated this mess. There was a knock at the door and he looked up for someone to get it. Nate went to the door…

"Did we miss all-ya-all's memo that the meetin' started early?"

"No, the meeting hasn't started. Eliot was just telling Mrs. Winchester about Lorena killing Mr. Spencer."

"Oh," Hardison entered the room and went to a small table where he could set up for the meeting.

* * *

Parker came in behind the hitter and found an empty chair to occupy out of the way. Then she realized that she felt a bit peckish. In telling Hardison her plans she'd forgotten to get lunch. She went to Beretta, took her hand, and made her stand. Then she went to Sophie and took her hand with her other free hand.

"I need food, you need food, then we'll be one happy family," she said and pulled them towards the door.

"I guess we'll be back," Sophie announced. "Try not to get into too much trouble while we're gone, gentlemen."

"How much trouble could we get into?" Nate teased as he watched Sophie close the door.

* * *

"What was Parker up to, Hardison?" Eliot wanted to know when the coast was clear…

"Don't look at me man, you ask 'er."

"Dammit Hardison! You spent all afternoon with her and she didn't say one damn thing about what she's up to? I know she's up to somethin'."

"Hardison, I think you better start at the beginning," Nate spoke.

"I can't man. She made me promise… An I need my gear to do my job. I tell and she'll destroy it."


	67. Chapter 67

**A/N - Ohh we're here at FABULOUS FUNDS FRIDAY already!**

**Where does the time go?**

**A/N - As some of you may have noticed, the action is speeding up... There is light at the end of the tunnel...**

**And NO, it's not a train headlight... At least I don't think it is.**

**A/N - Franklin has some fun... Parker is silly, and Quinn has arrived...**

**Please ENJOY and don't forget to REVIEW because I'm going to Costco tomorrow and Parker really wants a tub of Red Vines to snack on. So please keep Parker fed... Thanks!**

* * *

Lorena just couldn't handle the mess going on since the place she was staying at was flooded. The crew had started cleaning it up and then somehow, a wad of toilet paper got stuck in the toilet and the toilet kept flushing which meant the bathroom was flooded again… And again. She went into the bathroom and someone had written, 'I will get you,' on the mirror in toothpaste… She fainted and the maid took care of her. When she awoke, she panicked. Someone was playing a sick joke on her… The hell if she'd stay. So, she took what money she had to her name and began to pack. Lorena set her luggage by the door and then she looked up at herself in the ornate mirror there… She gasped. It had, 'Miss me, Sugar Britches,' written on it in hot pink lipstick. Frank? What the hell? Sugar Britches happened to be Franklin's pet name for her… When Enrique came home, she had her bags packed and she wanted him to take her back to Oklahoma. She ranted and raved all about Frank and that she had a score to settle. Hell no, was she going to stand by and let her late husband haunt her. She was going to hire a priest or something to make her late husband cross over. She had no idea that it wasn't going to work because she wasn't his business left unfinished; getting back at her was just the icing on his cake…

Enrique flew her on his private jet back to Oklahoma… Plus a few stops and travel time took her right into Saturday morning. She went straight from the airport to the mortuary, just hoping she had missed the funeral. She arrived promptly at ten in the morning, at the cemetery… Lorena was surprised as she found the only tent up in the whole small piece of property. She had been looking for any recent burials because of the disturbed grass still forming a mound over the grave. They drove all over and couldn't find anything like that. So they went back to the tent. She figured it must have been for her dearly departed Frank…

* * *

Parker led Beretta by the hand to the diner they had gotten breakfast at…

"TRACEY, WE'RE READY TO ORDER FOOD," Parker suddenly yelled at the top of her lungs once again.

"Parker, you don't have to do that," Sophie admonished her.

"What? Not my fault; she said to call her when we were ready to order."

"But we're not, Parker… We just got here," the grifter reminded the thief.

"Well, I know what I want for me and Eliot. Why do I have to wait?"

"Because it's polite."

"Okay, fine."

"Awww; let her go ahead. I'll be just a minute," Beretta smiled as she came to Parker's defense.

"See, she said it was okay."

* * *

Poor Tracey came up to the three women, all sitting at the counter. She had rolled her eyes when she heard that blond woman yell for her again. There was something wrong with her… She sighed and grabbed her tablet. At least her shift was almost over; she'd had to pull a double shift because Sirena had to go home early because of a migraine attack. It was okay because Sirena would take over her shift on Sunday. God, her feet ached. A hot bath could take her away from it all when she got home.

'Time to face the music,' she thought as she came off break.

"Hey, nice to see yawl again, what can I get ya?"

"I want cereal and a T-bone steak dinner with a large root beer, to-go."

"Soup or salad?"

"Why would I want soup or salad?" Parker narrowed her eyes at the waitress.

"The dinner comes with soup or salad.

"Um, soup."

"Would you like chicken noodle, vegetable, navy bean, or spicy gumbo?"

* * *

Chicken noodle was good for what ailed you, wasn't it? Parker knew Eliot made the team a fresh batch every time one of them came down with a cold. He was good about nipping colds in the bud before the whole team was out of commission, because a cold would keep getting passed to each team member and no one would get better for a long time.

"Chicken noodle. What is a chicken noodle anyway? I didn't know noodles came in chicken shapes."

"Pie or cake for desert?"

"Um, cake."

"We have German chocolate, chocolate fudge, strawberry delight, and red velvet."

"Red velvet."

"And what kind of cereal would you like?"

"One of each, please."

"Would you like milk with that?"

"Nope, got some back at the hotel," Parker lied to look a little more normal.

"Okay then, anything else?"

"Oh, and a cheeseburger and fries," she'd almost forgotten Hardison, "With the largest orange soda you've got, no ice."

* * *

Sophie put in her order for Nate and herself; then it came down to Beretta. She couldn't afford to order out and so her choices reflected that… The grifter decided to help.

"Order anything you like, darling. We've got the check tonight…" She saw Eliot's step-sibling light up.

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's going to be a long meeting and you'll need your strength."

At that response, Beretta ordered good meals for her and Colt. Tracey scurried off to put all the orders in and the women sat there at the counter looking a bit tired.

"Is it true? Do you think my mother tried to kill my step-father?"

"We'll be working on the proof tonight and some tomorrow," Sophie was a little vague but she thought her answer worked.

"If she did, I want to look into my birth father's death…"

"Why?" Parker asked.

"Because she might be a black widow," she said with deadly serious emotion in her voice.

"What's that? Is she a spider?"

"A black widow, Parker, is a woman who woos a man, marries him, and then kills him for his bank account. They usually have a pattern… A trail of dead husbands behind them," Sophie explained.

"Oh. That makes sense then… Hardison and I did a background check on your mother and found some interesting stuff."

"What darling?"

"I'll let Hardison tell you guys. You know how he is about sharing information he's found. He does that genius, 'Age of the Geek,' crap. He has to get his kicks somewhere…"

"I can't wait for this all to be over…" Beretta spoke.

* * *

Quinn stepped off the plane in Oklahoma City and headed for the rental car area instead of calling to have someone come pick him up. Eliot had already texted him the address of the hotel. His body ached and he was ready to crash for the night. He checked in under an assumed name, Miles Ward. He went right to his room, which Hardison happened to be watching. He reassigned the room number on the hotel computers before the key card could be activated. Mr. Ward now had a room across the hall from Eliot's room. He also had button cameras installed in the design of the elevator ceiling to monitor who was coming up.

* * *

"Hey. Miles Ward is on his way up, man," Hardison shared with Eliot. "That's Quinn's alias..."

"Thanks. Nate could you get the door?"

"Yeah, sure. You need anything while I'm up?"

"Nah, the women should be back soon."

"Suit yourself."

Three seconds later there was a knock on the door. Nate answered it and the replacement hitter had arrived. He spoke low, just above a whisper.

"Come on in, the ladies have gone to get dinner."

"Is it too late for room service?"

"I wouldn't use them."

"Why?"

"I was almost accidentally poisoned by scrambled eggs that smelled like almonds."

"Ah, I get your picture. I saw a diner on the way in."

"They is open 24 hours a day," Hardison added over the top of his lap top.

"Who's the company?"

"Client's husband, Mister Colt Winchester. She's out getting dinner with Parker and Sophie," Quinn grinned at the gun names… The client is one Missus Beretta Winchester."

"I see… And why is Eliot out of commission, again?"

"Long story… Have a seat," Nate avoided the question.


	68. Chapter 68

**A/N - WELL! Here it is folks... The moment of TRUTH!**

**Some of Parker's plans will be revealed... Others won't...**

**I know you're gonna love this chapter and what a way to start the week!**

**A/N - WARNING: SHOCKING ADULT SCENE AHEAD! **

**WARNING: THIS CHAPTER MAY CAUSE UNCONTROLLABLE LAUGHTER...**

**ENJOY! Please REVIEW! And we'll see you again for WALL SAFE WEDNESDAY!**

* * *

Sophie was having a cup of coffee when she heard her cell phone start to buzz in her purse. She saw a missed text message alert from MegaMind. He wanted her to pick up something for Quinn and she had the idea to get something for Tara as well. She managed to catch Tracey's attention and ordered two turkey club sandwiches to-go to add to the bill. Soon the other ladies had their meals ready and the extra club sandwiches didn't take long to make. The grifter put it all on the company card and they headed back. When she stepped into the room, Quinn was sitting backwards on a chair to Eliot's left. Hardison was busy typing away and Nate was on the other end of the couch. Colt was pacing in front of the curtains he'd closed to block the view into the room, and looked up. The guys were watching football on the television from a DVD of games Hardison made while Eliot was in the hospital and unconscious.

'Boys and their American sports,' Sophie thought as she put her two bags on the dining table where Hardison was camped out.

"CHOW TIIME," Parker yelled as she came in the room.

"DAMMIT PARKER," Hardison, Nate, Sophie, and Eliot yelled back at her.

"Time to put your toys away Alec," the grifter softly spoke.

* * *

Parker handed him a Styrofoam box and the extra-large orange soda. She took out Eliot's box and cut up his T-bone steak. There was no way he could cut it up himself while on the couch and be comfortable. Then she pulled out the bottle of A-1 steak sauce she'd nicked from an empty table in the back of the restaurant on her way back from the bathroom from her pocket. She put a little dab on each of the pieces for him and closed it back up. Then she put it in the microwave in the kitchenette to keep it warm. She grabbed the pint sized container of soup and a spoon and gave it to Beretta to take to him. Parker decided to let his step-sister have the credit on the warm chicken and noodle soup. She dove into her boxes of cereal and smiled like a kid in summer getting his first ice cream of the season. Then she took a seat to Hardison's left at the table. Sophie was to her left, Colt was at the other head of the table and Beretta was to his left. Nate sat at Beretta's left. Quinn and Eliot sat off by themselves on the couch, still watching the game. The thief thought it was interesting that the two hitters were off by themselves… They said a few things to each other but she couldn't figure out what because of the loudness of the television's sound.

* * *

Tara stepped off the private jet and waved to one of her male pilot friends she got a favor from. She too had a car waiting for her, but this one came with a driver. He took her to the address Sophie sent to Tara. She checked in under an assumed name as well, Holly Green. It didn't take her long to find the right elevator and head to where the team was meeting. Hardison had been eating dinner so he wasn't watching the hotel security footage. Suddenly there was a knock at the door and everyone froze. Nate put his hand out and made everyone stay as he checked the little button viewer on the door. Then he gave everyone the thumbs up before he opened the door. She entered the room dragging her luggage on rollers. Sophie stood and did the European greeting; cheek to cheek. Then she looked around the room to take in everyone… There were two she didn't know and one she knew in the intimate sense.

"You!" She yelled as she looked at Quinn.

"You!" He yelled back as he suddenly looked up at the tall blond woman. He stood…

He'd left her holding the bag in Ravenna and had to pay for their hotel room and the food service bill. But that was only fair because she stuck him with the same bills in Nice. Suddenly, Sophie pushed them into the bedroom where she and Nate slept so they could argue it out away from the client's view. But things changed once the door closed… Quinn had Tara up against the nearest wall. His hand trailing up the thigh she had lifted to his hip; their lips crushed together in a heated kiss; her hands snaked up in his hair. He ground his hips into hers and she whimpered. It was unspoken between them the need to be quiet with a room full of people next door. She helped him by opening her blouse and his mouth latched on to the top of her chest. Soon he entered her and she bit her lip to keep silent… He kissed her again and then they worked together in a frenzied hurry to get what they needed out of each other's bodies.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the other room…

"I wonder what the hell that was all about," Beretta said out of the blue after what she'd just seen.

"You might say they're enemies with benefits," Sophie spoke.

"What is it you're not telling us," Nate wanted to know.

"As I recall, they married young, but they're divorced now, and they couldn't give each other up, darling. They look each other up from time to time and meet for you know… One stiffs the other the tabs and they go on until the next meeting. They've been at it for years as I understood it. Professionally, they're enemies."

Both Nate and Eliot gave her a look…

"What? We're best friends… We share a lot."

Nate shook his head…

'They better not be using my damn bed,' he thought.

They needed to get the show on the road. The others could catch up later…

"Okay, does anyone have any ideas on what we do about the former Mrs. Spencer," he opened up the floor. "Eliot?"

"We could send Quinn to Rio to take care of it…" Sophie suggested.

"No… She needs to pay," Beretta spoke up. "Nobody gets away with murdering the only father I've ever known…"

"Does anyone actually have a plan?" The mastermind asked as he stood to get rid of the trash from his dinner in the kitchenette.

* * *

Parker was quiet as she stood and took her empty cereal boxes to the kitchenette. She hit the buttons on the front of the microwave for thirty seconds and reheated Eliot's dinner a little. Then she took it out and grabbed a plastic fork from the bag on the counter before she delivered it to the intended mark. She gave it to him and then took her place in front of the television.

"I have an idea… It might not be up to Nate's standards, but it's what I came up with…"

"Hardison, Operation Shiz-Nit please."

"Dammit Hardison!" Eliot barked at the hacker.

"Settle down Eliot," Sophie admonished the hitter.

Parker turned to the television and on the screen was part one of Parker's plans. The others wouldn't know about Operation Phantom Cobra… Except for Quinn, Tara, and Hardison, because they would be helping her execute the other half of her plans.

"Operation Shiz-Nit begins with Lorena believing she is the real owner of the Spencer estate. Tara will step in as our real estate agent and she's gonna help her sell the house to an unknown party. All Lorena should be interested in, is the amount of money she'll get from the sale. And since she's strapped for cash since her dearly departed husband left her nothing… We'll hook her."

"But how are you going to get her to believe the house is hers? She was at the official will reading…" Beretta brought up?"

"Hardison is going to produce a post-dated will just after the dates of the video and paper wills that the lawyer had. We'll get Mr. Sheraton in on this as well to make it look official. We'll forge the signatures needed to certify it's real to her…"

* * *

Just as Parker finished her sentence, the boudoir door opened and Tara appeared with Quinn behind her; their clothing readjusted and both looking a little flushed as seven pairs of eyes looked at them.

"Please go on," Nate offered as he gave up his seat for Tara and Quinn took Parker's seat at the dining table.

"Then later on once we've sent copies of the evidence to the sale, I will steal the money back and the house will still belong to Eliot. Hardison's wife can handle the official sale when Eliot is ready."

* * *

Tara and Quinn shared a look…

'Hardison got married?' They both thought.

Neither one thought it was possible knowing the hacker's penchant for being a geek and a highly annoying nerd at times. It wasn't totally unheard of for a geek to get married, look at Bill Gates…

* * *

"What about Franklin's death?" Beretta asked… "Is there anything we can do there?"

"That comes under Operation Hippocratic Oath," Parker went on. "Hardison…"

"Comin' up mama."

"Dammit Hardison!" Eliot sounded off to let the hacker know he was still pissed at him.

She watched him as he had his arms folded across his chest. He was definitely pissed but she wasn't so sure it was at her or all at Hardison. She crooked her finger at Hardison and he stood to address all in the room.

"Parker and I sadly discovered some news about your real father. Michael Geary Dalton, your birth daddy's name, was killed in a horrific car accident. In the investigation, they found lighter fluid all over the inside of the trunk; the liner was soaked wit-it. Y'all, they couldn't tell if the brakes had been cut because when the car flew off the curve, it ended in a giant fireball. They had to do DNA testing of the ashes so that his sister could identify the body. It was so hot, that the things they needed to check for evidence were melted."

Parker looked and Beretta was speechless, with tears in her eyes. Her real father's picture was up on the screen behind the hacker and she had an aunt! What Beretta didn't know about her mother was that she got pregnant with her and ran, so dear Michael never knew about her. She wanted to start over and got rid of her past… She arranged for the hose to send fluid to operate the hydraulic system to the breaks had been cut; but the plastic had been so melted they weren't sure if it had been cut. They weren't able to find the widow to notify her so she became a suspect; but the case ran cold because the small town they lived in didn't have the resources to chase her down and the FBI had bigger fish to fry.

"Lorita Stone is Lorena's real name. Then she got hitched and became Lorita Dalton. When she befell with a bun in the oven, she became Lorena Kassidy; that's with a K so she's evil… Then she married again and became Lorena Spencer. Hardison will arrange to have Diego paid to keep quiet, but then he'll steal it back, which will piss him off. Then we set her up with multiple accounts which will make her look bad. Lorena and Diego will be arrested together, by Tara and Sophie. She will recognize Tara as a real estate agent but she was working undercover for the FBI. Sophie will be under an assumed name; just like my FBI Special Agent Hagen and Alec's FBI Special Agent Thomas. Diego will cave and tell us what we need to know to get dirt on her, our evidence of conspiracy," Parker continued the meeting.


	69. Chapter 69

**A/N - Welcome to any new readers, favoriters, and followers! You are much loved and appreciated!**

**A/N - Welcome to WALL SAFE WEDNESDAY! You made it!. **

**A/N - Now, I took a little creative license there with the last chapter and I assumed, Quinn and Tara had never met in the show. I haven't seen every episode of Leverage... But, I decided to give it a go and gave them a little history together... I thought since Hardison was taken, it wouldn't be right to hook him up with Tara. Did you like it? Maybe he's the one who taught Tara how to fight... Like Eliot taught Parker some moves...**

**A/N - In this chapter, you'll get to see more of what's up Parker's sleeves, but not everything...**

**You'll want to bitch slap Eliot, guarantee it... And Beretta takes charge... **

**Just as fiery as her namesake... ****But she offers comfort too...**

**And Parker will make you laugh...**

**A/N - And be slightly aware of what Nate is up to in the next few chapters... He's forming plans of his own...**

**Enjoy your day and devour the two chapter update! I will see you for FABULOUS FUNDS FRIDAY!**

**Don't forget to REVIEW, they're like Rainbow Skittles for Parker...**

* * *

"What about him? What about Diego? Won't he go to jail?" Beretta wanted to know.

"I'm getting to that in a sec. We'll get Tara and Sophie everything you need to pull that off. Then once we get the information out of them, Alec will send everything to the real police. We'll have her on two pre-meditated murder cases, trespassing, forgery, and theft."

"What about the food poisoning?" Sophie asked.

"It's up to Nate and you if you want to give a sworn statement to the fact to the police. Hardison can rig up fake lab reports if you want to slip that into the interrogation of Lorena and Diego… He might be able to tell us something we can use. Otherwise, we have her on the two premeditated murders… Diego will probably cop to a lesser charge."

"And what about the danger my family is in?" Colt asked.

"That comes under Operation Snug-As-A-Bug…" Parker began. "After the funeral, Nate, Quinn, Hardison, and the Winchesters will go to California. Pack up and go to the location Hardison sets up. When Eliot and I finish with the cremation, we'll be on our way to meet up with you all."

Parker still hadn't told them about Operation Phantom Cobra yet… She'd hold that meeting another secret place. She'd have to remember not to wear the pair of shoes Hardison micro-chipped so he couldn't track her. And she needed to make a few phone calls once Eliot went to bed…

* * *

Nate was quite surprised that Parker had come up with some good ideas so far. He decided that he'd work on a plan for the drug cartel when they got safely to where they were headed. That was really more something he had more expertize in planning. The things Parker took over were just small stuff compared to taking down a whole drug cartel. With Diego in jail, it might irk them enough to get him released. Then Diego will want to come after any of the team in retaliation. Lorena might sic the family onto Eliot and maybe even Parker… He wouldn't let them come after his hitter and thief… He wouldn't let them come after Sophie…

"I don't need you to stay here for me," he heard over his shoulder… He hung his head as he frowned.

'Oh no,' he thought… 'Unbelievable! Here they go again. Just like an old married couple.'

"Silly Eliot… Mister, I'm stayin'. You can't push this chair everywhere you need to go while you're here."

"DAMMIT PARKER, I'm not totally helpless!" The hitter yelled at the thief.

The mastermind decided that it was time to end the meeting and get everyone settled in for the night. It was already ten. Parker was going to have to stay with him and Sophie. Beretta and Colt could check into a room with his blessings, i.e., the company credit card. Tara and Quinn had to be starting to feel tired, or if not, they'd spend the night doing other extra-curricular activities.

"Okay, meeting's over for now. Parker, you'll bunk here tonight."

"Nope, I'm stayin' with Eliot," she objected to his plan.

"I don't think it's a good idea," he said as he looked at Eliot who was staring off at the bedroom door.

"I'm not changing rooms," she narrowed her eyes at Nate.

"Fine," He guessed she knew what she was signing up for with Eliot. "Hardison, please check the Winchesters in."

"We're staying with Eliot and Parker," Beretta announced, to Eliot and Parker's surprise, and she crossed her arms across her chest just like Eliot would; which meant she wasn't budging either…

* * *

Parker wasn't too adverse to the idea since they had a Hide-A-Bed that she slept on. She figured it wouldn't be wise to share the bed with Eliot, so she'd sleep in the bathtub or on the floor out of Eliot's way. She couldn't bring in another bed because Eliot needed the space in the bedroom to get from bed to the wheelchair and off to the bathroom.

"Fine, then Tara and Quinn you have your rooms. In the morning, as I understand it, we have Eliot's father's funeral around eleven thirty. We'll be at the mortuary by ten. I would suggest that Quinn and Tara stay behind at the hotel, just in case Lorena shows up at the funeral. So, Quinn; be prepared to leave from there with your luggage. One change to Parker's plan, Hardison will stay here with Sophie and Tara until Lorena is in police custody. Quinn and I will head to California with the Winchesters."

* * *

Eliot couldn't believe Parker… Why didn't she share her plans with him instead of running to Hardison? Lorena was his problem; his step-mother… It hurt that she didn't trust him enough to help her think up a plan. And he couldn't believe Hardison… Keeping it all from him as well; his distrust of hackers grew by another five feet. No one had discussed anything about the drug cartel and it worried him. It worried them that they were leaving him out of the loop. He didn't consider that them leaving him out of the loop was for his own good. It really irked him that Parker was ordering his life. Wasn't he in control of his own life anymore? Couldn't he take care of his father on his own? Maybe he was just tired of being babysat twenty-four hours a day. Hell, she'd even cut up his food for him! He wasn't that lame… He didn't take into consideration that Parker waiting on him like she had was her way of feeling needed. Because if he didn't need her, then what could she do to help? And she needed to help Eliot feel better… Happy-And-Smiling-Eliot was better than Hurting-And-Grumpy-Eliot. He really didn't need the thief; all he'd have to do was hire a nurse for a week, and he'd be a better man… And now she wanted to stay with him in the same room after what he'd just said? True, there was a Hide-A-Bed in the other room… Maybe it could work…

Dammit Brett! She was butting in again! That meant they'd take the Hide-A-Bed… So where was Parker going to sleep? And then it hit Eliot… Dammit! It was a fucking conspiracy! Parker would have to share the bed with him… He saw what his step-sister was up to… It really was better that way anyway; he'd told Beretta that he wanted her close to him. Then Nate went on to talk about what was happening in the morning and he really wasn't looking forward to it. Beretta could speak if she wanted to; he wasn't going to speak, just a simple service. He tried to focus on the fact that he was going to meet his nephew and niece for the first time in about a week.

* * *

Soon five people were in the hall and heading to their respective rooms. Eliot's room three doors down from the elevator and Quinn's across the hall from Eliot. Tara left her luggage in her room and found Quinn's room on her own since he'd given her his room number while they were straightening their clothing after their intimate encounter. Colt pushed Eliot into the room after Parker opened the door. Beretta closed it behind her.

"I'll go to the rental and get our bags," Colt uttered because he assumed his wife and the other two wanted to talk.

"Thanks honey," Beretta said as she sat on the couch.

She watched Parker disappear into the bedroom with the door closed behind her and Beretta knew she had to be in pain after the curveball Eliot had thrown at her during the meeting at his friend's room. She had a moment alone with her step-brother and she was going to damn well give him a few choice words.

"You are gonna be quiet and listen to what I have to say to you; no buts about it Mister. El, I am eternally grateful to you for doing what you're doing for me and my family with your friends, but I can't believe you were acting the way you did tonight towards Parker…" she spoke low and sternly so Parker wouldn't hear much of it.

He opened his mouth to object and she nipped it in the bud…

"Ah, ah, ah, I said no buts. She has only wanted the best for you as far as I can tell since I met her, and to haul off and yell at her that you're not totally helpless… That in my book; was cruel Eliot. Just by you opening your mouth to say that proved that you are, in fact, totally helpless. I know you didn't ask for all this and I know the pain has been hard, but things are gonna get better. I know you feel desperately out of control since you can't walk and be on your feet, but now you need to trust that others are looking out for you until you are whole again. Now, at the soonest opportunity, I want you to apologize to Parker for being rude and embarrassing her in front of others…"

She watched him roll his eyes at her and look away…

"Don't you dare roll your eyes at me; I'm serious. Take it or leave it. One day, she's not gonna be around and you're gonna kick yourself for not makin' it right. And that's all I have to say about that. Now, I'm going to go check on her. You sit there and think about what I've said Eliot."

* * *

Parker had heard some of what Beretta had said but she wasn't going to fight back and defend Eliot because she agreed with her on the most part. Someday, she wasn't going to be there… The day Operation Phantom Cobra went into effect; and no one was going to be able to stop her, except maybe Quinn, but she wasn't going to give him the opportunity to do so. Still a few tears came to her eyes as she turned down the bed for Eliot and removed the extra pillows from the bottom drawer of the dresser with the spare burgundy red velour blanket. Then she carried the items and Bunny into the bathroom, and put them in the bathtub. Fortunately, it was dry, and she pulled the curtain to hide where she was going to spend the night. Then she wiped the tracks of those tears away with a tissue from a box imbedded in a holder on the counter. She heard a knock and looked up… Beretta was standing there with a sad look.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. If you want to help get him to bed, I'll go make up your bed," she quickly flashed her eyes up and then went back to studying the flecks of gold in the countertop."

"I can do that… He was wrong, you know. I called him on it. I really feel bad about the way he treated you tonight."

"Don't. I'm used to it. Everything in his life is out of his control right now and he's takin' it out on me. It's partially my fault. I thought he needed to say good-bye to his dad, I never dreamed that this would turn into a nightmare… If I hadn't forced him into this…"

"No, you did the right thing, Parker. He may not want to admit it, but he needs this. He needs his friends and family around him right now. Otherwise, if I ever knew my step-brother, he'd go out, get drunk, and get in a fight somewhere because he believed that he needed to be punished for taking so long away from his father."

"You know, he saw him…"

"Saw him where?"

"Here… In the mirror; he said he saw his dad. I just found him staring at himself in the mirror."

"That can't be a good sign… You're right; I'll put him to bed and you take care of our bed. Colt should be back any minute. Now come here," Beretta said and she walked forward toward her with her arms open.

Parker decided to go ahead and hug Beretta for the woman's sake, not for her own. She wrapped her arms around Beretta and squeezed, but the woman got her into a bear hug.

"Don't give up, he's worth it, Parker. When all this is over and done with, I want you and Eliot to come to my house for dinner on Thanksgiving."

"I don't know if we'll still be speaking to each other by then, but I will come on my own anyway if we aren't. I want to meet your kids."


	70. Chapter 70

**A/N - Welcome to WALL SAFE WEDNESDAY! This is your special treat!**

**Things aren't so hot for Eliot and we get a clue as to who the mystery guest is... Sort of...**

**IF 1 of you can guess who it is correctly, you will UNLOCK a special treat for FABULOUS FUNDS FRIDAY... **

**You can put your guesses into your REVIEWS if you like or you can send me a PM! I will be watching for results via my phone...**

**I know I am Evil, but you love me anyway...**

**I hope you like this chapter and I will be back on FABULOUS FUNDS FRIDAY with chapter 71!**

**Devour this like I know you will and please REVIEW... Parker gets hungry for cereal... Your reviews are her cereal...**

* * *

Eliot sighed as he hung his head. It had been a long day… He was on Too-Much-Information-Mode… What started his frustration was Hardison keeping things from him and then Parker handing him a box with a steak that had been cut up in little pieces like he was four years old all over again. He could cut his own damn steak dammit! He should have known she was going to want to stay with him after the funeral… He could have hired a nurse and gotten care plus a little sexual gratification out of it perhaps as well. It sucked that his right hand was still out of commission because it was attached to his right arm that was still in a soft cast… He heard the door open behind him and footsteps.

"Okay, soldier, time for bed…" Beretta said as she grabbed ahold of the handles on the back of the chair.

She turned him around and wheeled him into the room. He didn't let her help him up and onto the bed. No, he was going to do that for himself… She pulled up the covers for him and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

"Sweet dreams, El."

"Night," he told her.

* * *

While Beretta had blocked his view, Parker had slipped out of the bedroom and in to make up the Hide-A-Bed for Colt and Beretta. Just as she finished, she let Colt in. Once he was in, she secured the door and headed back into the bedroom. She left the door ajar a crack and silently padded into the bathroom to go to sleep. She stuck to her decision about not sharing the bed with Eliot; since she didn't want to make him angrier. Parker did the same with the bathroom door; leaving it ajar just a bit. At least she didn't have to sleep in a heating and cooling duct; they were too small to climb into anyway. She pulled out the bedding and folded the blanket in half one side hung over the tub. Then the pillows went where she needed them before she grabbed Bunny. He took up his spot on the pillow where her head would be. The other edge of the blanket came inside the tub and she pulled the curtain closed. Parker laid on the blanket half that was on the floor of the tub and pulled the other half over her body and Bunny. Her left shoulder went under the blanket and her back kept the shower curtain in place. Soon, she let the energy she had left from her bones and she fell asleep.

* * *

Eliot had tried to go to sleep, but his step-sister's words kept ringing in his ears…

"One day, she's not gonna be around and you're gonna kick yourself for not makin' it right."

What did she mean that one day Parker wasn't going to be around? Did Beretta know something he didn't? Had Parker told her something? Was Parker planning to do something on her own without help from the team? She was just crazy enough to do something like that. No, he expected Quinn to keep an eye on her… But if Parker wanted to disappear, he assumed there would be no finding her. And that's what scared him more so than Brett's words; that Parker would disappear and it would be hopeless to find her because he was stuck in a wheelchair. Various scenarios began to enter his mind of how things could get all fucked up and how he would be unable to stop any of them. He sighed and suddenly he had the urge to go use the toilet. He maneuvered his body into the chair and soon he was rolling onto the tiled floor. He turned on the light and did his business with the porcelain throne. As he looked at the shower curtain he noticed it was taught; usually it was loose. What was making it that way? He hadn't seen Parker on the floor on the opposite side of the bed and he didn't feel the warmth of her body in bed with him… Where was Parker? He slightly pulled back the curtain from where he was on the commode and he saw a burgundy red blanket inside… A little further and saw Bunny with blond hair all around him, her head was tucked in behind the stuffed animal. Parker was sleeping in the bathtub! Dammit!

And somehow, he didn't blame her… He had treated her terribly, but he was a grown man who could cut his own damn steak! But she shouldn't be sleeping in the bathtub for crissakes! Eliot decided to let her stay there and he closed the curtain. He closed the toilet lid before he flushed so the sound was muffled and she wouldn't wake. He thought maybe sometime in the night she might get up and move to the bed with him; there were still several hours to go before it was too late. Then the hitter put himself back to bed and this time he was able to fall asleep. Even then after he did fall asleep, he still woke up every 90 minutes to check and see if Parker had come out of the bathroom and into his bed…

* * *

Parker woke up at seven in the morning and folded up the velour blanket after she had gotten out of the bathtub. She opened the door quietly and placed the blanket and pillows just outside the bathroom. She took Bunny with her as she snuck out of the bedroom in the same clothes she wore the day before. The sun wasn't up yet for at least a half hour. She'd stolen Eliot's phone as she was helping to get him into the chair and left Bunny locked up in the room's safe inside the back of the closet. It would be nothing to her to crack it open later… She had the key card in her pocket still and she slipped out of the room; quiet as a mouse. Then she made her trek up to the roof. Once there she opened her phone and dialed a number she got from Hardison's wicked-mad computer skills.

"Hello? Spencer, is that you?"

"I have a proposition for you…"

"Who's this? How did you get this number? Do you know what damn time it is?"

"Come on Mikey, you know me. You studied my file…"

"What is this proposition?"

"How would you like to stop a cocaine drug cartel from Brazil?"

"What's the deal? Is Spencer in on this proposition?"

"You could say that. They're gonna come after his family. He needs your help to take them down. It's classified and he's not to know what I want you to do."

"I'm listening."

"I need an expert interrogator to pump them for information. My partner and I will take them down and you can be John Wayne for a while and get what you need for charges of kidnapping, two counts of murder, drug possession, and drug trafficking. Call in any agency you want to hand them over to, but I just need you to be a little rough with them… Hell, you can even make them disappear permanently if you like…"

"Interesting… What's in it for me?"

"Oh, how would three million sound?"

"How soon do you need my services?"

"The shipment of cocaine is due to arrive middle of next month. I'll call when it's shortly ahead of time so you can arrive in time."

"How big a shipment we talkin'?"

"No idea. I will be checking on that in about a week."

"Why isn't Spencer to know?"

"Because he had an accident and then right after, got thrown into a family crisis. His father died…"

"I'm sorry to hear that. Give him my condolences."

"I don't want him to know so that it won't make his cup over flow. He's already in a fragile state; I don't want him to go crazy on me."

"Darlin', he's already there…," the man chuckled in her ear.

"I've got to go get in some yoga before he wakes. Are you in?"

"Yeah, I'm in."

"I'll owe you one then…"

"Fair warning, I might take you up on that."

Parker hung up the phone and went down to the executive exercise room to work out some of her frustrations. She ran on the treadmill until the sun came up and then she hit a yoga mat to keep her limber. As much as she tried to clear her mind, all she could think about was that she still had two days to go before it was the 29th and a full moon… Then it turned into thinking about Eliot and her hands tingled a bit she thought it was from the blood rushing to her hands from the yoga, but she couldn't remember ever getting tingling in her hands before when she did the poses she liked. She tried to ignore it but it got stronger the closer it got to 8:30 in the morning. It bothered her so much by 8:35 she gave up and headed back to the room where Eliot and their guests were probably getting up. The thief had no way of knowing that the tingling had started because Eliot had woken up and she was gone…

* * *

When Eliot woke up, he smelled coffee… He was on his back and the other half of the bed hadn't been slept in. It was still cold to the touch and still tucked into the other side of the bed. He rolled over to the opposite side of the bed and found no one on the floor… His eyes shot up to the bathroom door and found it wide open. He got up, made it into the chair, and then opened the bedroom door. Beretta was sipping some coffee next to Colt on the couch.

"Brett, you seen Parker?"

"No, not since last night, why?"

"She's not here."

"I wouldn't worry about her. She might have gone for a walk or something. She knows we've got to leave soon to head to the mortuary."

"Right," he actually sounded disappointed to his own ears.

"Do you need help with somethin', El?"

"Could you press my suit in the closet? I need to go freshen up."

"Sure. What do you want to do for breakfast?"

"I'm not hungry…" His stomach was in knots anyway, Parker was gone… And then Brett's words came back again…

"One day, she's not gonna be around and you're gonna kick yourself for not makin' it right."

He was scared that this was the day she'd chosen to be gone. By her past behavior, Eliot had to trust that Parker would come back. She'd toughed it out with him so far…

"El', you need to eat to keep your strength up; especially if my mother pops up like a bad penny."

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

"Listen to me for once…" Beretta spoke as she stood to go get the iron and ironing board.

"Just have some coffee warm when I get out of the bathroom. Use the room phone and call room 358. Have Hardison look into just who's gonna, 'buy,' my dad's place."


	71. Chapter 71

**A/N - Well, here we are... Thank you to the 3 readers who got the guess right... It was Col. Michael Vance...**

**So keep reading and you'll find out where he fits in...**

**A/N - I took care of the missing word oopsies.**

**ENJOY your updates, please REVIEW, and see you on MOOLA MONDAY!**

**PS. WARNING: YOU MAY NEED TISSUES for this chapter and the next one!**

* * *

Parker came back into the room and found Beretta ironing the suit Eliot wore to Sheraton, Pope, and Stevens. She smelled some coffee in the air and spied her mug sitting on the coffee table in front of the Hide-A-Bed. Colt was flipping through channels hoping to find ESPN. Fortunately, when he found it he turned it up loud enough that Eliot wouldn't be able to hear the women chatting.

"Morning, is there any of that left?" She asked pointing to the mug.

"Yeah, check the desk next to the TV stand. Hey, where you been? Eliot had a little panic attack when he couldn't find you this morning, though he won't admit it if you ask him."

"I had to make an important phone call and I worked out before some yoga. Hey if Eliot asks, you found his phone on the floor by the closet this morning, must have slipped out of his pocket when we came in last night."

"Uh, sure," and Beretta set the iron down to turn the hitter's suit slacks.

Parker handed the phone over after she'd made sure to erase the call she made from the history log, just like Hardison taught her.

"He's in freshening up. Colt, could you take Parker over to that diner up the street for some breakfast?"

"I'm not hungry," Parker said as she went to the closet to get out her black dress she wore to the lawyer's office and placed it on the bed.

"Not you too, you're two peas in a pod, I swear," Beretta complained.

"What does that mean? Two peas in a pod?"

"It means Eliot isn't hungry either," she simply replied.

"Don't worry; I'll make sure he eats."

"Please do, I don't wanna see him next week all skin and bones."

* * *

Eliot had a washcloth he'd gotten wet with warm water and twisted out before he used some of the bath soap to clean his skin around the back of his neck. He rinsed out the rag and washed off the same area as he used his good arm to wipe off the soap; water droplets sped down his back leaving damp trails. He washed his face and took a minute to breathe through the material; the heat felt relaxing on his skin. When he moved the washcloth, Franklin was there next to him with his arms folded across his chest, just like Eliot did from time to time.

"Dammit dad, you scared me!"

"I've come to warn you, Lorena is lying in wait. She's at your mother's gravesite. She's hired a priest to make me cross over. It won't work…"

"And what am I supposed to do, stop her?" Eliot was being sarcastic.

"Make sure she doesn't stay behind."

"Fine, I've gotta get ready or I'll be late to pick you up from the mortuary."

"I'll check in on you later. By the way, who was the angel in bed with you the other night?"

"That's Parker," Eliot responded without it registering that his father called her an angel. "We're just friends, dad."

"Uh huh," his dad spoke as though he didn't believe him; and then he was gone.

* * *

Eliot went about his way, washing his pits and the rest of his upper torso before he tackled everything below the belly button. When he finished, he was a bit tired and out of breath. He was sitting in the chair with his boxer briefs around his cast covered calves with a slightly lukewarm washrag over his privates, when Parker's head appeared around the door.

"Everything okay, Sparky?"

"Dammit Parker!" He hollered as his hands went to cover over the cloth covered loins. "You should knock first!"

"Silly Eliot, time to get ready. Beretta has your suit all pressed and I have here a fresh pair of underwear."

"I can get dressed myself."

"Yeah, and boxer briefs look normal stuck half way down your legs. How's that workin' for ya?"

"Where were you this morning anyway?"

"The executive exercise room. I needed to do some yoga to keep loose."

"Oh."

Parker knelt down on her knees in front of him, pulled the offending material down off of his casts, and worked on the new pair of underwear; she stopped just above his knees.

"Now, I'm going to help you stand and I'll pull them up the rest of the way because you're all wet. Stay right there, we need a couple more towels."

She stood and grabbed the largest size towel on the rack. She folded it in half and put it over the back of his chair as he leaned forward. She grabbed a medium sized one and tossed the halved towel onto her shoulder. Then Parker moved back in front of him and moved the foot rests out of the way.

"Now, put your arm around my neck and I'll get you up."

"Parker, I can do this myself."

"You're all wet and we're running out of time."

"And you smell like a gym…"

He caved as he lifted his good arm up around her neck and she put her arms under his arms and locked her fingers together before she deadlifted him up. She was right; they didn't have much time for fighting. Eliot was surprised she had so much strength… She leaned back so that his body was pressed against hers and she pulled up his underwear. She stood back up straight and then shifted his body toward the counter. He ended up sitting on the counter next to the sink. She put the towel on her shoulder on the seat. Parker helped him stand and they did their little dance before he landed back in the chair, gently. Then he let the brakes go and she pushed him out into the bedroom where Beretta now waited with the suit shirt.

* * *

Within twenty minutes, the ladies had Eliot dressed. Parker had combed out his hair and put it in a ponytail. Then she whisked away with her dress, quickly showered, dressed with her clothing and minimal make up, and then it was Beretta's turn. Colt, sink washed just like Eliot had while his wife took over the shower. Parker poured Eliot a mug of coffee and fixed it like she knew he liked it so that he could drink it before they left. Then she scurried off to take care of things in the bedroom… She put Bunny in her black backpack, stuffed the sweaty clothing from exercise along with Eliot's dirty underwear into a dry cleaning bag from the closet, and then stuffed it into one of the dresser drawers.

'Try takin' that housekeeping…' She dared imaginary maids in thought.

Because who wanted smelly clothing? They weren't expensive so they weren't worth stealing. She decided to break into the staff laundry room later and get everything washed. Or at least Sophie might be talked into it later if Eliot wasn't doing so well. When the Winchester's were ready to go, they had their luggage packed to go home. Parker was all packed to go before they left the room; her pack rode on the back of the hitter's wheelchair. She didn't like to leave her things behind if housekeeping was going to clean up. As it stood, she had the only valuable things already in her possession, Bunny and Eliot… If the clothing got taken, it was no big deal. They could be replaced… Bunny and Eliot couldn't be. Parker pushed Eliot to the elevator and soon the team of the four of them was in the lobby and spotted Sophie sipping something from a Starbucks coffee cup while chatting with Hardison and Quinn, as Tara was still in his bed sleeping off the rest of their private reunion. The unseen mastermind was out getting the Suburban from the parking garage.

* * *

With Parker walking behind him, he caught a whiff of jasmine and lavender, and it began to do things to his body… Eliot began to relax and his breathing slowed a bit; which was her secret subtle intent. The group made eye contact and then the six of them headed to the Suburban. Sophie took shotgun in the front with Nate, then Eliot and Quinn, and then Parker and Hardison. It still hurt that she wouldn't sit next to him, but he didn't really blame her because he hadn't apologized after the way he treated her the day before. He didn't know that she'd sat in the back so that he could catch up with Quinn. Colt had left the group to go get the rental they had for him and Beretta. Nate moved the vehicle out of the way to the near end of the driveway to wait for the Winchesters. He didn't want to take the risk of leaving them behind; they needed to stay close together. Soon the second vehicle honked and then Nate started up the engine…

* * *

They arrived at the mortuary and then Mister Franklin Spencer was carried out on a gurney inside the thick sealed cardboard box with an American flag bungee corded on top. The flag was placed so that the union blue field was at the head and over the left shoulder. The extra parts of the flag were folded under and held by the bungee cords so that the flag wouldn't touch the ground. Then the hearse waited for everyone to get in their vehicles before it began the slow procession to the cemetery. When the team of two vehicles arrived they got out and the gentlemen helped Eliot into his wheelchair. Then the two man honor guard waited at the head as the pallbearers in uniform opened the back of the hearse and the eight men began to take Mister Spencer out. Then the honor guard turned and began the parade just a bit up the road to the funeral site. The three rifle men detail closed in the frame around the body. All slowly marched in under the tent to the seated family and friends; before they stopped. Then the six pallbearers slowly moved the box to a raised altar like table, while the honor guard stood to the side. When they finished two more men appeared and began to start playing, 'Taps.'

There was a shortage of live buglers for the service so there was a special electronic device that fit into the bell of the bugle. It played Taps so all the men had to do to provide a more dignified service was fake the fingering. It was more dignified than using a portable boom box or Hardison's computer. Parker silently cried as she heard the song. She looked over at Eliot and there was no emotion… It was like he had zoned out, but he still stared at the flag covered cardboard box. She had Beretta sit next to him on his left and Sophie sat on his right; Nate next to her. He changed his mind about Quinn and the hitter was hidden behind some trees as back up. Lorena and Enrique sat three seats away from Nate and tried to act the part of the grieving widow; her face partially hidden with a black veil. She pretended to dab her eyes to get rid of crocodile tears. Parker's anger turned up a few notches. When the song ended two of the pall bearers acted as the honor guard and they began to do the flag folding ceremony. As the two men meticulously folded the flag into a tri cornered shape; three men of the rifle detail stood away from the tent. They locked and loaded their weapons before they began their volley; one round shot per gun. Then three fired cartridges were slipped into the slot were the last flap of the flag was tucked in. They signified duty, honor, and sacrifice.

Then a representative parent the U.S. Marines that had the folded flag, turned on a dime, and headed straight for Eliot. Oooh; that pissed Lorena off as Parker watched her with narrowed eyes. The wicked woman began chattering to Enrique that Eliot wasn't his widow and she was supposed to get the flag…


	72. Chapter 72

**A/N - This chapter is brought to you by Josh Turner's song, Pallbearer, the special Eliot playlist I made, and the VFW Ladies Auxillary Magazine my grandmother gets.**

**Enjoy and let us know how you feel about this chapter in your REVIEW!**

* * *

According to the legal rules, Eliot was the next of kin in the blood line, Lorena was not because after Franklin died, she had no legal right to anything of her late husband's, unless she had a financial and or medical power of attorney. A marriage license meant nothing when it came to money or estates. She forged a financial power of attorney to clean out the joint account and what funds Franklin had left in his account. She couldn't touch anything in the trusts because Eliot had executor status on both; not to mention they were safely with Jack Sheraton even after the hitter took up his position. The man bent over to Eliot's level and began the sentence Parker thought might be hardest for him… But he didn't even flinch… And she worried there was something wrong with her friend. It was almost like he was in a trance; very robotic. She had to see to working on him later… No more Sad-Eliot… She wanted Happy-Eliot back. She needed Happy-Eliot back or she couldn't leave him to go save his world… Or what was left of it anyway…

* * *

"On behalf of the President of the United States, the United States Marine Corps, and a grateful nation, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation for your loved one's honorable and faithful service."

Eliot knew it was coming… It was harder to actually hard to have heard it. He had been to dozens of military funerals for his buddies but it was different when they were referring to your lost loved one. He didn't know his face was empty of all emotion… He actually felt cold bursting through his body, but he wouldn't let it show… Not in front of anyone. Period. He made it through, 'Taps,' but it felt like a punch to his gut. He accepted the flag and then saluted the man in uniform, which almost killed him then too. No, the hitter wasn't going to let his new team or anyone present see him shed one tear. One regret he had was that he wasn't able to be in uniform himself, much less stand to give his salute. The man turned on his heel and began to slowly walk heel-toe to meet up with the other men standing at the ready to carry Mister Spencer back to the hearse. A priest came forward and it seemed odd, because his father wasn't Catholic, and they already had a minister there…

"Is there anyone who wishes to speak before I begin?" The minister began the service…

Beretta stood and made her way to the small podium off to the right. She pulled a folded piece of paper out of her clutch purse, unfolded it, and began to read…

"This is a poem I found on the web, the author is unknown. It's called, 'Life is but a Stopping Place.' Life is but a stopping place, a pause in what's to be. A resting place along the road, to sweet eternity. We all have different journeys, different paths along the way. We all were meant to learn some things, but never meant to stay… Our destination is a place, far greater than we know. For some the journey's quicker, for some the journey's slow. And when the journey finally ends, we'll claim a great reward, and find an everlasting peace… Together with the Lord," Beretta placed a rose Colt had got for her from the gift shop at the hotel, just for that purpose.

"Anyone else?" The minister asked.

Eliot could hear everyone around him quietly gasp. They were all waiting for Lorena to get up and make an even bigger unmitigated ass out of herself. She turned toward them and had this smug look on her face; she was going to do something… The team glared back at her, but he didn't give her the time of day. She stood and went to the podium.

"This is a portion if a poem 'I' found on the net called, 'I Hate You.' I hate you like the fire hates the rain. I hate you like the whore hates the shame. I hate you like the priest hates the sin. I hate you like the snake hates its skin. I hate you like a parking ticket on a windshield. Good riddance Frank…" She finished her speech and walked back to her seat with an air of rich snob on her face.

He was glad that Beretta kept her mouth shut. It wasn't worth the hassle; his, 'family,' was going to deal with her the right way. Because he couldn't slip back into the man he used to be… If he went there, he would lose his, 'family,' in the team, he'd lose his step-sister, he'd lose Parker, and life as he knew it would be over. He'd have to find mercenary work… And that work was dirty, bloody, and tedious after a while. But then Lorena, the entire Villareagos family, and the entire drug cartel would be wiped off the face of the planet.

* * *

"Alright then… Shall we begin?" The minister paused and then began. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to mourn the loss of Franklin Spencer; a beloved father, step-father, and husband. In this time of grieving, we are to remember that if we believe in Jesus Christ, we will see him again one day. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. Psalm 23. Let us pray, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen."

They all whispered amen. Nate's body was already itching with thoughts of how to deal with Eliot's step-mother and the drug cartel. But then he had to remember that Parker was running the game on her mark. He wondered if it would be best to set up one drug cartel against another big one… And by process of elimination, the El Serpiente cartel would disappear. Problem solved… Nate sighed. He hoped they could pull their hitter through this nightmare. He needed to talk with Parker alone to find out what she had up her sleeve that she wasn't talking about in front of the team, or letting Hardison talk about. He had been around her long enough to know that she was hiding something from them. If he didn't talk to her before he headed to California, he needed to get her before the shipment was due to come into Los Angeles. He didn't envy Quinn having to watch over his master thief… Nate would make sure the man knew how serious watching over Parker needed to be. He didn't need a broken hitter on his hands either. He also began to wonder why the priest was there… Then he watched the man go through a ritual and sprinkle holy water around the cardboard box containing the deceased body. The mastermind stood and quietly moved to the edge of the tent to stretch his legs.

Lorena kept that smug look on her face through her hired priest's little crossing over ritual, her right arm wrapped around Enrique's left arm. He looked like he wanted to get the hell out of there, almost turning a bit pale. Some people didn't like funerals… The man finished and then Lorena suddenly stiffened…

* * *

"Nice try darlin'… But I'm still here," Franklin whispered in his widow's ear.

"This show is over, I'm leaving," she suddenly stood and pulled up Enrique with her.

She marched off toward their hired car, they got in, and they soon were gone. Well, his plan sort of worked. He didn't cross over like Lorena wanted so that he could stay and be with Eliot. The ritual actually tickled a little, but he was an intact spirit. He moved outside the tent to watch the rest of his funeral.

"Now in your memories of this day, try to remember the good memories you had with your father and your step-father. Don't focus on death, but focus on life. Because we who are living must go on until the day you will see him again. And now we will close with a prayer. Heavenly Father, I come to you in this time of loss of this loved one and for this family. I ask that you grant them your peace that passes all understanding. Please show them your love and comfort as they take one day at a time. And help to draw them closer together so that love might heal their hurting hearts. All these things, I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen."

The pallbearers marched back in and under the tent. They lifted it, turned their bodies, and then put it upon their shoulders. Then they began to march in a parade with the color guard at the head, heading back to the hearse. Franklin stayed behind to watch over his son…

* * *

Eliot's thoughts turned dark as he watched the funeral detail carry away his father's body. Hardison sat with Colt behind Parker and Beretta; they were up and the thief was suddenly there because he could smell jasmine, lavender, and something that was distinctly Parker… But he couldn't clearly identify just what it was yet; because his mind was elsewhere, somewhere dark. Eliot felt like a lonesome pallbearer, carrying the dead, such a weight… He carried the dead on his shoulders of all the people he'd killed; his shoulders felt heavier. He wondered how many people he'd put in cemeteries around the world. From time to time he still had nightmares from the people he'd killed but since he'd been working with his team, they diminished some, but never fully gone. Soon they were following the parade and the uniformed men. Quinn came along and pushed him over to the Suburban, Hardison at his right; and Sophie on his left. When they reached the vehicle, he looked to the right and Parker had stayed behind with Nate as they watched the rest of the ceremony. They were talking and pausing… It looked very conspiratory… And Eliot didn't like it.

* * *

Nate put his hand on Parker's elbow and pulled her aside for a moment as Quinn stepped in to take her place. She went with Nate and stood a few feet away as the men put Eliot's father in the back of the long black car.

"What's going on in that thieving blond head of yours… I have a feeling you're planning something very dangerous," Nate began.

"I can't tell you."

"Now, I know it's hazardous. As the head of this team, I need to know what I'm dealing with Parker."

"Alec knows and he's the only one that's supposed to know until I'm ready. I need you to do your part by goin' to Fort Bragg to get Beretta's family and get them to safety. Then stay there. I need you and Sophie to watch over Eliot until I return… And I will return…" she spoke with an air of certainty in her voice.

"In one piece or in a body bag? I don't need a thief in a body bag Parker," Nate was just as serious.

"I have to do this Nate. Not just for Eliot… I need to do this for me."

"You don't need to prove that you can get yourself killed…"

"That's what I have Quinn for," she smiled and Nate sighed.

Parker was going to talk him around in circles no matter how he tried.

* * *

"And don't you dare threaten Hardison or let anyone else threaten him," she narrowed her eyes at him.

If they could just keep to themselves a little longer… She knew they would forgive her later. Hardison was essential to her plans. Just by Nate pulling her aside, something was up. And she'd known him long enough to know he was planning a job… She still needed his guarantee they would leave Hardison alone on this one.

"Okay, okay. I'll make sure we do our best to keep our hands off of Hardison."

"Good, because I don't want to have to break his toys."

"What should we tell Eliot?"

"Well for one, don't give him a damn ear bud. I guess just have Beretta and Sophie baby him a little. Let him do little things like letting him bathe and get dressed on his own. Bring him healthy take out… I'm not sure Beretta can cook. Don't let him near the kitchen; dining room only for meals. The rest of the time, keep him happy with as many sports games and movies he likes. But I doubt he'll watch all that when he's got a step-niece and step-nephew he's never met. Come on, they're waiting for us. Eliot might think we're up to something over here… The hearse has rolled away."

"True. Where to next?"

"Crazy. Wanna come along?" She spoke and he hung his head, shook it, 'No,' as he smirked.


	73. Chapter 73

**A/N - This chapter gives you a little insight into the team and sets you up a little for MOOLA MONDAY'S update!**

**I know it's a little short... But I know you'll like it!**

**Enjoy and please REVIEW!**

* * *

Nate drove the Suburban back to the mortuary and made sure that Mister Spencer made it back into cold storage. He also talked with the person in charge about getting extra security until Monday when the body would be headed to the crematorium because of Eliot's step-mother. They agreed to bring in two extra guards, on top of the one they already had, to watch the property until Monday. Of course, Nate paid for the extra help… Then he drove the team to the airport, with Beretta and Colt following him. They pulled up to a side gate where the team's private jet waited for them. He parked a few feet away from the wing and killed the engine. It seemed an appropriate time for a speech…

"This is it… This is where we split up. Hardison?"

"Yo, gimme a sec to get out," the tall hacker said as he waited for Quinn to open his door and get out.

"I'll let you know the minute we've safely arrived at the secret location," Nate told Sophie as the other member of the team was getting set up for an ear bud with Hardison.

"You do that. Be safe Nate… One funeral this year is enough for me."

"Me too," he spoke and then leaned over his arm rest and gave her a kiss that lingered a couple seconds before Hardison said the plane was loaded.

* * *

Sophie got out and came around to the driver's side and Nate was there with the door open. She couldn't deny that she felt worry with him going on a mission without her acting skills… She was good with kids, wasn't she? She'd helped that child perform at his science fair…Then he grabbed her waist and pulled her close before he planted a hot kiss on her lips.

"Keep that warm for me," he whispered in her ear when the kiss ended.

And just as quick, he let her go, turned away, and headed for the plane's step ladder into the interior. The poor grifter was a bit dazed at the kiss but she recovered quickly; her hands grabbed onto the door for support. Then she climbed up into the seat and buckled in for the ride back. Yes, she'd keep that kiss warm for Nate until she saw him again…

* * *

Quinn got out of the vehicle and let the hacker loose. Both of them went around to the back and Hardison began to rattle off a few things, which were probably important but he, was getting into the zone for this new job. Then the hacker pushed something into his ear and walked to the plane.

"Can you hear me now?" Hardison whispered.

"Yeah. How'd you get into my head?"

"Smallest ear piece ever made by yours truly," the tall man said as he began to unload luggage and headed back to the plane's luggage compartment.

Quinn decided to leave the man to completing the task. He went around to the driver's side and opened Eliot's door. They hadn't had much time to talk this time around. They might have a little more once Eliot arrived at the location Hardison was supposed to find them, that is if he could pry Parker's thieving hands off of the hitter.

"We'll talk when I see you in a few days."

"Guard them with your life…" Eliot spoke.

"You're payin' me as much to do so," he tried to joke, but it fell flat as Eliot was so serious in his expression.

"They're the only family I've got left…" Quinn understood his meaning.

He'd do what the hitter wanted him to do. He was going to retrieve and transport precious cargo. They shook hands and did a quick manly hug from his right shoulder to Eliot's still healing right shoulder.

* * *

"My turn…" Beretta said as she came up behind her step-brother's friend.

Colt had gone over to help Hardison with their baggage so she'd decided to take the opportunity to check in with Eliot.

"You take it easy and let Parker take care of you, though I know it's hard, you need to do it El'."

"I'll see you in about a week," she noticed he tried to change the topic right away and it made her a little sad.

"Yeah."

"Tell those kids they'll be meeting their Uncle Eliot soon. We don't have to tell them I'm a step Uncle until they're older."

"I will. Gotta go," and she gave him a warm but soft hug, which he returned the best he could.

* * *

Hardison told Nate the plane was loaded and then he went to check in with Parker. She had gotten out of the Suburban and had closed up all the open doors, except the passenger side door and Eliot's door. He was worried about her taking on too many things along with being a 24/7 caretaker for their hitter. She always had boundless energy even without the cereal, but he'd gotten a sudden glimpse of her looking tired.

"You okay mama?"

"Yup. Why, d'ya think I'm not?"

"I just thought you looked a little tired."

"Oh. I didn't sleep that well last night."

"You should let Sophie take over for a while and get some rest."

"Later…" That was the end of it; as she got in and closed the passenger door.

So he just got in and sat next to Eliot who'd just closed his door.

* * *

The remainders of the team watched as the plane began to taxi to the runway and then took off. Sophie fired up the engine and soon they were on their way back to their hotel. When they reached the parking garage, Hardison helped Eliot into the wheelchair as Parker stood behind the back. They headed to Eliot and Parker's room to get the hitter comfortable and check in with Tara, probably still across the hall. They helped Eliot out of the chair and to the edge of the bed. Sophie and Parker helped to get him stripped down out of his suit. Then they found him a clean t-shirt and a clean pair of sweats to fit over the casts. He was a bit grateful that he had worn underwear or the situation might have gotten a bit embarrassing quickly. Then the ladies got him to the Hide-A-Bed couch; his casted legs went to the coffee table. There was a knock at the door… Sophie got a small gun out of her purse and looked through the peephole; Tara stood outside in the hall waiting for someone to open the door. The grifter put the gun away in her purse before she rushed back and opened the door.

"Sooo, what are we doing now?" The other grifter spoke.

"Just got back," Sophie told Tara and then checked her watch. "It's lunch, I'll take Hardison with me you and Parker should work on the job details."

"Sounds fine. I'll have what you got me last night."

* * *

Tara stayed behind and Parker told her that the plan was for her to be a real estate agent. Franklin had decided to put the house up on the market according to an addendum to the will, slightly just before he started taking a turn for the worse with his health. The money from the sale was supposed to go to Eliot when he passed. But… Parker planned out Lorena's reaction and they had already made up a falsified deed to the house and that was why Holly Green, realtor was contacting the widow of Franklin Spencer. Tara seemed cool with the plan and then they would spring the trap on Lorena a few days later when the supposed sale went through…

"Who's going to be the buyer?" Eliot wanted to know.

"Alice Cline," Parker said and continued to fill in Tara, "Once the money was in Lorena's account, they would contact the police once Sophie grilled them and then send them all the information the team had on her and Diego Rodriguez.

She could do her job perfectly, but she wondered what was going on between the hitter and the thief. Something had obviously changed between the pair since she'd last seen them since Eliot had casts on his legs and Parker was around him more. Had something gone wrong on a job and Parker felt guilty and so she needed to take care of him to make up for her mistake? She saw the way Eliot watched Parker; he looked upset but, he seemed to agree with her plan. Tara decided to pump Sophie for information later. Soon enough, Sophie and Hardison were back with lunch. After lunch, Sophie, Hardison and Tara left to go to Hardison's room to make the call to Lorena…

* * *

"Who's Alice Cline?" Eliot wanted to know after the trio left.

"An alias of mine," she said as she locked the door.

"Really, never heard of her."

"She's new."

"So you're going to buy my father's house… Since when are you suddenly giving up money?"

"I'm allowing Lorena to borrow it. Then I'm going to have Hardison steal it back for me after they lock her up."

Eliot felt the rush of sugar hit his blood stream and he felt a bit sleepy. He wondered if she had slipped him something again… He yawned and she caught it.

"I kept my promise and you ate, now I'm gonna help you take a nap," she said and stood up.

She lifted his legs and brought them both at the same time before she placed them on the couch; the rest of his body couldn't help but follow her lead. She picked up the throw blanket off the back of the couch and draped it over his frame. He hated resting so much but if it meant that he could get his casts off when he got home, he'd do it. At least his mind wasn't on the same path it had been on earlier at the funeral. Soon, he was sound asleep.

* * *

Alice Cline was just a name Parker invented for the job. Of course the Alice came from a previous identity but the last name came from Patsy Cline. She'd always liked her music when she'd gotten to hear it and Parker figured that it sounded country enough to fit in. She hadn't put anything into Eliot's drink but she liked the effect of him thinking she had… He needed his beauty sleep. She sat in a lounge chair nearby and watched him sleep. She knew he was going to be mad at her when he found out what she had in mind to do with the cartel, but she did something for him with the horses… Now he had to do what she had planned for her…


	74. Chapter 74

**A/N - Sooo, betcha didn't think there was going to be an update today...**

**After all that over the weekend...**

**GOTCHA!**

**A/N - What you didn't know is that I have incoming family tomorrow so I won't be able to have an update for WALL SAFE WEDNESDAY. So this is the last chapter until FABULOUS FUNDS FRIDAY. **

**Oh, I know you'll go through cravings, but I'm sure you'll handle it...**

**Because I will have tons of free time after family leaves, to WRITE!**

**A/N - This chapter is a little short but I think it moves the story ahead...**

**Savor it until Friday and don't forget to REVIEW! **

**The stress of family coming is making Parker want more cereal... So send her a review to get her through the rough patch...**

* * *

Hardison had picked a spot to hide the Winchester, and soon the last of the Spencer clan by the time he'd finished eating. He managed to find a two story inn in Brisbane, Australia… He really had no choice. He needed it quick; it was nice and warm down under; his joints were aching the longer they stayed in the cooling temperatures of Oklahoma City. It would be winter in not too many more months. Anyway, the place looked simple and comfortable; they also had single and double rooms for guests. No room service and you had to wash the dishes you ate off of but it didn't look all that bad… One way in and one way out with security fencing all around it. He passed the info on to Nate. He hoped they would approve of the warm location but, he knew they would complain that it was too far to fly. Alec knew the private jet wasn't going to get them there with such a small gas tank… So he chartered a bigger plane, able to take them with only two stops. They would take the jet to L.A. and then catch the larger plane full of fuel there. Then on to Auckland, New Zealand where they would have a stop for gas and then on up to Brisbane; almost like a backwards check mark. He paid for the rooms in advance and so Nate and Quinn had their own rooms on the ground floor, Beretta and Colt had the room at the top of the staircase, and his parents were two doors down from them. The babies would be put up in Beretta and Colt's room. Hardison put Quinn close to the staircase so any one going up to harm them would have to go through him first.

It didn't take long for Nate to complain about the long flight via text, but he also agreed to somewhere warmer. He only did so because he had pictured Sophie in her bathing suit on a Gold Coast beach, but Hardison didn't know that. So, the hacker sent him the information and then continued the work he needed to do for Tara and Sophie… They were already lying in wait for Lorena to take the bait. Tara had come to his room and left a recorded message with Hardison to have him play once he located Lorena via a phone. Then Sophie and Tara took off back up to her suite so they could girl talk until Hardison sent word the bait was taken.

* * *

Parker found her notebook that she used for the occasional rituals she did for the new moon and the full moon times. She pulled her legs up and tucked them in until her heels reached her hips. She leaned back and clicked her pen on, ready to write. She started brainstorming ideas and then about once every ten minutes she'd look up to check on Eliot. When she thought she had finished about two hours later, she got up and changed out of the dress she wore to the funeral. Sometimes she called it, 'Declassifying,' just for her own amusement. Parker came back to the lounge chair and Eliot hadn't woken yet. She sat down and looked out the window. There were clouds gathering like some unseen force was gathering up cotton balls, soaked in water. They weren't dropping their rain yet, no, they had to turn gray for that to happen. Then she realized that this time, her move of love toward Eliot was going to have to be a two part event. She hadn't checked the weather yet, but that morning they had predicted that it was going to rain all day on Sunday and possibly into Monday. And, the full moon was on Monday; he had to go certify the body at the crematorium, so he was going to need more love than ever to get him through. Then they could wing their way to the farm…

* * *

Lorena had been pacing in the living room of the suite Enrique had gotten for them as soon as they'd returned from the funeral. She was ranting and raving on anything and everything she'd seen and heard. Since the Catholic priest couldn't get rid of her husband, then fine, she'd get a Wiccan to go and do a ritual at the headstone of her late husband's wife; his name and dates were already on the tablet. Eliot had paid dearly for such a speedy engraving; at least the man had spelled the name right and got the dates correct. She didn't know the body hadn't been buried there because she left before the service was over. It was funny in the way she didn't question why her late husband's body was in a cardboard box; it was too late to ask anyway. Abruptly, her cell phone rang… She let it go to voice mail so she could screen out people she didn't want to talk with. She didn't recognize the call from Green and Rally Realty… Yet whoever it was left a voicemail.

"Hello, this is Holly Green of Green and Rally Realty. I am looking for Mr. Franklin Spencer… I wish to speak with him about the sale of his house. An associate of mine and has been so absentminded lately, she lost the paperwork. She's on maternity leave now and I am taking over some of her case load. Please call me back at area code (405) 698-2143. Again my name is Holly Green and have a good day," Hardison's recording of Tara ended.

The first look on her face after she hung up her phone was one of disbelief… She'd been through the disaster of the watching of that damn video will and that had been supposedly all legal down to the signatures. So, where was this new thing coming from? The more she thought about it… If it was a chance to make some money and stick it to that son of his… Well, she was all in by God… Lorena quickly dialed the number back and it triggered an alarm on Hardison's computer… Then she got a live person…

* * *

"Green and Rally Realty, how may I direct your call," Hardison disguised his voice to play a secretary.

"Holly Green please."

"Please hold," she spoke and Hardison was already calling up to Sophie's room.

A few seconds later he got the dark haired grifter…

"Game on," was all he said and hung up before he went back to his set up.

"Who may I say is calling?"

"Lorena Spencer. I am the widow of the late Franklin Spencer. I'm returning her call."

"Please hold," he hit a button and then it muted the phone call.

He jumped up and began to pace until he heard the knock on his door. He checked the peephole and it was just Tara. Alec let her in right away. He put his headset on her so that she could talk without having to hold a phone. Then he sat back and watched Tara go… His hands at the ready to get whatever files she needed to read from. The hacker had several windows open of possible things she'd need.

"Mrs. Spencer, may I offer my condolences."

"Yes, thanks. You mentioned that my late husband put his house on the market?"

"I did. He came into my office and said that he was going to make an addendum to the will. He said he wasn't feeling well; he wanted to put the house on the market before he got terribly sick and couldn't go through with it. He mentioned that he wanted the money to go to his son."

"Oh, did he now. Well, I am the executor of his estate now that he's passed on," Lorena clearly lied.

"Do you still want to sell the home?"

"Yes, but Franklin had some debts that need to be covered so, I'm afraid the money from the sale will have to go come to me so that I can pay his final bills."

"How soon would you like to meet?"

"How's today?"

"That's fine, but we'll have to hurry. It's supposed to rain tonight," Tara had checked the weather report when she'd gotten up, sometime after Quinn had left.

"Perfect. I will meet you there in an hour."

"Fine. I will be there Mrs. Spencer and I'm so sorry for your loss."

"Yeah, thanks."

* * *

Unbeknownst to the team, while they had been on the way to the mortuary, Parker was conducting business from the back seat. She had sent a text out to a two secret teams to check on their progress, Nate's team didn't know about this… Not even Hardison. She thought that way he had plausible deniability if they made him talk about her plans. Two teams of twenty people were hired by the thief while she'd been at the executive gym, on the treadmill. Their job was to go to the house and pack up everything in sight. The truck was already headed to Oregon. She'd sent them to work before she'd hit the elliptical machine because she knew no one was at the house; Beretta and Colt were with Eliot. She knew this through Hardison; he'd been tracking the rental car by his computer. He'd placed the tracking device under the car and fortunately it was waterproof with all the rain they'd had. So since no one was at home the two teams went in and packed up everything before they loaded it all on a big truck, at least twenty-eight feet long. Parker was having it all shipped to the farm. Then if Eliot wanted to go through it later, it was there. She didn't want to take the risk of Lorena destroying anything. Yeah it would have been another charge to add to the list, but Parker was sure they had enough to get her on already. This little secret plan was one of the things she'd left out of telling the team… And there were secret plans to Operation Phantom Cobra that she'd left out as well…

* * *

Nate notified Sophie when they landed and Quinn did the same for Tara. Sophie actually let out a breath she wasn't aware she'd been holding. They had the rental car ready and were about to drive to the house. It was only a five minute drive from the Fort Bragg Airport, but it took longer for them to get the plane unloaded and get it all into the all black Suburban waiting there. He let Colt do the driving to the house because he knew the man could get them there fast.

* * *

When they arrived at the house, Beretta could barely wait for her husband to put it in park before she was out of the vehicle. She had to see her babies… They were up and staring at one of their favorite movies, Finding Nemo. They liked the music. Grandma and Grandpa Winchester were on the couch nearby. She was trying to do a crossword and he was waiting to put the kids down for a nap so he could watch ESPN. Her mother in law looked up when she heard the front door open. She got up to check it out…

"Brett, you're home. How was your trip?"

"I can't talk about it now, listen to me. I need you to go up and pack your things. We have to leave the house immediately. There are two men that came with Colt and I, they're here to keep us all safe…"

"I don't understand, what's wrong?"

"I don't have time for an explanation. Please go pack for you and Henry."

"Alright, I'll go. The kids have been perfect angels…"

"Good, we'll catch up later I promise."

* * *

Henry saw his wife, Patricia heading up the stairs in a rush. Then he saw Beretta come around the corner with two men. Then he saw Colt headed up the stairs as well.

"Brett, good to have you back. What's Patty up to?"

"I can't explain now. We've got to leave the house as soon as Patty and Colt come back down with the luggage. I've got to go help him. This is Nate and Quinn; they're here to make sure we get out of here safely. There's not much time."

"Anything I can do?"

"Um, installing the car seats would be great. I'm gonna take care of the babies."

"I'm gone," Henry called over his shoulder and Nate followed him.

* * *

Nate had experience with car seats… And surprisingly enough, the sting of the bite of the memory wasn't too bad. They were going to have plenty of time to chat on the plane as they were heading to New Zealand. If they didn't get it all in, then by the time they got to Australia, they'd know it all.


	75. Chapter 75

**A/N - Please go re-read chapter 74 before you dive into this one because some things have changed...**

**Thank you!**

**A/N - Now, you may dive into this chapter!**

**As you may have guessed, there is a 3 chapter update today!**

**There's the one you didn't get Wednesday and two for Friday to get you through the weekend. **

**So chapter 78 will be on MOOLA MONDAY!**

**ENJOY as I know you will and please REVIEW!**

**Love ya, mean it!**

* * *

Nate wanted to know how they were going to be able to get the family into Australia given that he didn't have time to feign passports to be able to enter the country. Hardison was able to get the fake visas entered into the computer in time for their check in at LAX. Because Parker had a plan, there was a little time before Nate and company was supposed to arrive at the airport in Los Angeles; they were mid-air by her calculations. She called Archie, who, by luck of the draw, happened to be on vacation with his family in New Zealand. The sky was beginning to lighten as the sun was about to come up. It was quite interesting when Nate stepped off the plane leading the pack and Quinn bringing up the rear, that the mastermind saw the older man dressed in a Hawaiian shirt, board shorts, and Birkenstock sandals. He watched him take off his sunny weather eye wear to confirm it was who he thought it was. What the hell was he doing in New Zealand? Nate saw the manila envelope in hand.

"Mister Ford, we meet again…"

"Archie, what are you doing here?"

"Shall we go somewhere private for a minute? I believe your next flight isn't due to leave until eight."

"Quinn. I'll be back, I won't be far away if you need me," Nate spoke. The hitter nodded.

He went with Archie over to some seats by an Air New Zealand terminal. They sat and Archie got right into it…

"Parker said you might need these. There's one for each of the whole group. Sorry about the names, couldn't be helped."

Nate didn't need to ask what they were. It was thick enough to be able to feel that they were the rest of the travel documents that they needed.

"How did you…" the mastermind asked.

"I know a guy," Archie smugly smiled.

"Thanks," Nate said as he held them up to signify he was thanking him for the items.

"Don't thank me… Parker's the one that deserves it."

"Yeah…," the younger man stood and turned to the elder man. "Hey, would you be interested in a job when this is over?"

"Give me a call if you need something, I'm sure we can work something out…"

"I'm sure we can," Nate said and turned to head back to the group.

* * *

Beretta had her daughter in her left arm with a blanket over her shoulder, breastfeeding in public… But also being very aware of that public, and being in a foreign country, she covered up to give her daughter some privacy. She didn't want to make waves and end up in jail. Nate Ford had helped to fill in the gaps as she quietly filled in her in-laws. They were running to keep the children safe and Mr. Ford's team was handling the problem. He even filled Beretta in that her mother had taken the bait… So it was only a matter of time before the rat was caught in the glue trap. The in-laws were quite shocked but they under stood the necessity of running so fast from the life they knew. The mother of two was looking at it as a big family adventure. She'd never been anywhere other than Oklahoma and California. She knew her in-laws hadn't been to Australia either and it didn't seem that Colt had been either. Beretta wondered if they were going to get to do some sightseeing while they were in Brisbane… She stood and walked up to the big picturesque window. The sun was getting higher in the sky; they had arrived just a little after sunrise and from what she saw of it from her window on the plane burned into her memory. She didn't know if the pictures would come out good or bad considering it was shot from a plane. The young woman turned and there, her little Logan was asleep on his father's lap. Colt looked worried of all things when she caught his gaze. She went to him and sat by his side…

"What is it?"

"I'm gonna lose my job, Brett. We can't afford to be doing this now…" She saw the panic in his eyes.

"Col… We can't afford not to run. These kids and this family, your family is the only real family I have left. That and Eliot. I know everything's gonna work out because Eliot said he would take care of everything… And I believe him. I've never had any cause to doubt him."

"I'm sure you're right. I don't know him like you do, I guess, and I'm scared."

"Hell, I'm scared too. But I have to believe that this will be good for us… Because I can't focus on the negative."

"Agreed."

* * *

Nate went over and sat next to Colt… The in-laws were taking their toilet breaks and freshening up. Quinn was watching for the couple. The mastermind had his eyes on the younger couple with the children.

"These are your passports and the two for the children. We got passports for your parents as well, Colt. From now on you will be the Kellogg's. Parker has a strange fixation with cereal. You will be Kristin Kellogg," he said as he handed Beretta her passport. "And you will be Keith Kellogg. Your parents will be Karen Kellogg, and Kaylor Kellogg. The children are Kellen and Kiera Kellogg. You must make customs believe you are these people or we'll end up going to jail. Quinn and I will be your step-brothers, on your father's side, different mothers. He will be Miles Ward, just like at the hotel. I will be Nathan Garnett. When we fill out the customs cards, I'll give you the address we're headed to. Don't keep the trail mix snack from the plane, they'll confiscate it."

"Why?" Beretta asked.

"It's a foreign food. They don't allow foreign food to enter the country. Trust me, learned the hard way once… Anyway, you'll have to fill in your parents; here are the rest of the passports. I have to go make some phone calls." Just as Nate left, the others returned and were filled in on the game plan…

* * *

Back in Oklahoma, Lorena pulled up to the empty house. She looked around and every little thing was gone. Parker had donated the entire set of kitchen appliances, bathrooms, including the cabinetry in both rooms, and all the lighting fixtures all over the house to charities that could reuse them. The mattresses were gotten rid of but the bed frames went to storage in Oregon. The woman wasn't too surprised, but she wondered how Eliot was able to get the estate so empty so quickly considering he was in a chair with wheels. She figured his friends might have done it, but for the amount of things gone from the house, it had to be a lot more people than just them. She put it behind her as she watched a black Denali pull up and park in the driveway behind the car she had Enrique get for her to make this appointment.

"Missus Spencer?"

"Yes, you must be Holly. Call me Lorena."

"Holly Green, from Green and Rally Realty. Shall we take a look?" The woman nodded in the affirmative.

* * *

Tara opened the front door and was quite surprised to find the house emptied. But ever the consummate professional, she continued to sell her part.

"What a large living room… We should list this as a spacious living area. The kitchen needs to be redone. I have a fabulous decorator that can redo the home and we can add that cost to the sale of the home if you'd like."

"No, that would take too long. I want to sell it as it is."

"All right," Tara started typing away on her tablet faking that she was doing something; Hardison's fake add for the sale of the home was on her screen so that Lorena could see the house was up for sale.

Lorena wandered around through the house to get a last look at the stark bareness of the rooms. It actually seemed to her like her trials with this whole mess was almost over. She figured the whole property had to be worth at least five hundred thousand. She was already seeing dollar signs in her mind's eye.

"How soon do you think it will sell?"

"I will let you know as soon as we have a bid. But then if we accept it still has to go through a home inspection and tenting before the sale can be completed."

"Well how long does that take?"

"I know some people that can do it in a week."

"That's fine. I want to make this as legal as possible," Lorena headed for the door.

Tara kept her mouth shut as she followed the woman to the door. She secured the door and quickly headed to her rented Denali to move out of Lorena's way. The grifter backed out and as soon as she cleared the driveway, Lorena turned right and took off like a bat out of hell down the road.

"She bought it… Talk about being legal… Her butt is gonna be in the frying pan," Tara spoke into her ear bud. "And there won't be a way to jump out."

"Amen, sister," came from Hardison.

"I'm headed back now."

* * *

A little after eight in the morning, Nate and company boarded the flight to Australia. The kids were still asleep in the carrier or on daddy's shoulder. As they flew to Brisbane they lost two hours… So when they landed they needed to adjust their watches again. The whole troupe of family made it through customs unscathed. But they had problems when they got on the other side… The person the car company was supposed to have sent with a vehicle; wasn't there. So Nate had to rent another car and he resolved to have Hardison make some trouble for that company later. Then, because he had never driven the area before, the poor mastermind and too many backseat drivers got them lost. Three agonizing hours later, after none of them could read the damn map correctly, Nate gave up the driver's position.

* * *

Quinn took over… Within fifteen minutes, the replacement hitter pulled up to the location they were supposed to be at hours ago. They finally made it to the Sandpiper Inn. He killed the engine and looked over at Nate. The man was agog at him… And the others glared at him as well.

"What?"

"You mean you could have had us here hours ago," Beretta asked, a bit frustrated like the others.

"No one asked me if I knew…" He said as he shrugged and got out of the vehicle.

He wasn't about to tell them that he'd been at that very location for a portion of his honeymoon with Tara, a long time and several jobs ago… Quinn moved to the back of the vehicle and began to help unload the luggage from the boot. Nate pushed a button at the gate and was buzzed in. He went in to take care of checking them all in. He came out with a bag full of sheets; because apparently when you paid for the week in advance you got clean sheets. Of course you had to wash them if you wanted them changed more often, but they were all checked in. Oh and don't use too much water because of the drought…


	76. Chapter 76

**A/N - ****I am considering putting together a photo album for those of you that are interested... There will be pictures of different things in the story... So if you want to eventually see Parker's wedding dress or the honeymoon... Let us know!**

**A/N - This chapter was interesting to come out of nowhere... But I love how it works... I know you will too.**

**A/N - To explain the Dam****mit Parker's... ****DAMMIT PARKER - Loud yelling**

**Dammit Parker - Frustrated low voice, almost a growl.**

**ENJOY and please REVIEW!**

* * *

Eliot woke some three hours later… He opened his eyes and blinked them once when he noticed that it was already getting dark and it was sixteen hundred hours in the afternoon according to his internal military clock. He had slept very hard… Then he saw Parker over in the lounge chair near his feet. She had her feet tucked up by her side and she was just staring out the sliding glass door. Eliot suddenly worried that she wasn't breathing because she was barely moving; so still, so statuesque. He sat up on the couch and moved his legs one at a time to the floor.

"Parker?"

She didn't move…

"Earth to Parker… Are you in there?"

Then she blinked her eyes and turned to look at him…

"Yeah. Silly Eliot, where else would I be?"

"Oh, I don't know, dammit… Mars?" He said as she uncurled her legs and put them on the floor.

"Where were you just a minute ago when I woke up?"

"Hungry?" She changed the subject… He decided not to push her by the look on her face.

"Yeah, I could eat something."

* * *

"Good, cause you're going out with me, because Nate says we need to use the buddy system on jobs. It's not a date mind you, just food," she let slip…

"What? Parker, why would you even think that I would think it's a date?"

"Just give me a minute to get you ready. Can't have you getting your clothes all wet," she totally ignored him as she went into the closet and grabbed a long duster trench-coat she brought along, just in case.

"I need to go use the can before we go."

Parker helped the hitter into the chair and pushed him into the bathroom. She left him alone for a piece to let him do his business. She smiled when she was out of view… She didn't want to tell him that she was day dreaming about the various ways her plans could go wrong and all the ways they could go right. She called it, 'Nate-Thinking.' She had put her mind into a trance-like state and floated off into her thoughts. She wanted to make sure that nothing got wet that wasn't supposed to get wet. Sufficient time had passed and she heard Eliot yell her name. She came right away and he wanted her to open the door so he could push his way out. Instead, she pushed open the door and pulled the chair over the threshold of the bathroom into the bedroom. She helped him take the sling off that was holding his soft cast on his right arm. They worked one sleeve up to his shoulder and then she helped him put the sling back on before she had him lean forward so that she could get the other half of the coat on his good arm. Once they got it on, she helped him stand, his one good hand held onto her shoulder as she closed the coat and then helped him gently sit back down. The ends of the coat overlapped over his sweatpants which would keep them dry. She grabbed a jacket for herself, a wallet she rarely carried filled with some bills, enough to cover dinner at least, and put them in her pocket before she zipped up the pocket and her jacket. The tip was dependent upon the waitress' attitude.

Soon they were on their way out of the hotel… Eliot held the big golf umbrella Nate brought along for the funeral, in case it had started raining. He'd left it in the Suburban and Sophie had brought it up when they brought back lunch. It hadn't started to rain yet but the temperature had started to drop so the rain was incoming any minute. She pushed Eliot all the way down to the diner, she and the others had been to. Parker found a table where she could move out a chair before she was able to roll the hitter up to the table. She left with the chair and when she came back, he had finished pushing himself up to the edge of the table. The thief took a seat and waited for someone to come over and help them. This time she didn't dare yell out for Tracey since she was out with Eliot. She wanted to keep the, 'Dammit Parker's', down to a minimum. The menus were already on the table and she opened hers.

"Get what you want," she told him as she looked at hers.

* * *

Tracey was glad her day was almost over… That was until she spotted the hot guy with that blond woman that liked to yell after her every time she came in. He sure was injured… She started to day dream a little and almost dropped a ketchup bottle into the Ranch dressing. She served up the meals the customers were waiting for before she pulled her tablet out of her pocket and made a straight line for that table in her section.

"Hello again," she said as she greeted Parker and then turned her eyes on Eliot. "Hello, I'm your server, Tracey. What can I you, sugar?"

"What would you recommend darlin'? I'm starvin'."

"Well now, we can't have that, now can we. You leave it up to me."

"You got it."

"But, you should pick what you want to drink first."

'Because I have more than whiskey in mind…' Tracey thought.

"I'll have a beer." She nodded and turned to the other woman.

* * *

Parker watched Tracey and Eliot like a hawk… She turned on the charm and there seemed to be light in his eyes as he looked her over. He seemed interested… They were flirting! The thief saw green and suddenly a fork was in her hand, her eyes narrowed. There went the waitress' tip…

"And what about you? What would you like this evening?" The waitress tried to be just as friendly to her but it was too late.

Parker was locked and loaded…

"Cereal, get her cereal. No milk and as much of it as you've got," Eliot interceded on her behalf.

"Okay then, be right back," the poor woman spoke, unsure of what was going on between the two of them.

* * *

Eliot didn't bother to watch the waitress leave. He got a look at the way Parker's hand was turning white around the fork. It didn't seem right… Something was wrong with the thief and he needed to defuse the situation before he or the waitress found themselves stabbed in the heart with a fork. What the hell was wrong with Parker? The woman just wanted to be friendly and get their orders. He wondered if Parker understood what flirting was… Well, she at least had jealousy down pretty good… Was it jealousy? Why would she be jealous of a waitress, here in his backyard of all places? Eliot managed to get the fork out of her hand by surprise. He put his fork and hers out of her reach.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she lied.

"Parker… You almost stabbed the waitress with a fork! That's NOT nothing. What is wrong with you?"

"I wanted a burger and fries…" She hung her head.

"No, not while you're ready to kill. You get cereal until you calm down, got me?" He softened a little but was still stern with her.

"Fine, but you were my friend first."

He looked at her like she'd grown a second head and then he rolled his eyes at her as his head found the palm of his left hand; it supported his head's weight as he looked at the table. There was no way to win with Parker, because she would say off the wall stuff like what she'd just said… So instead, he let it go and looked out at the cars passing by on the street.

* * *

About ten minutes later, Tracey came back with the bus boy carrying a tray of cereal boxes for Parker and she held Eliot's meal in one hand with a pot holder.

"Now careful, sugar, this is hot," she spoke as she put the plate on the table.

She brought him a plate with several slices of melt in your mouth brisket with grilled bell peppers and onions, mashed potatoes with beef gravy, and sautéed petite green beans with bits of garlic. There was also a small salad with tomatoes, romaine hearts, cucumber, and a dish of ranch dressing on the side.

"I'll be right back with your beer," she winked at him and twirled away.

The smells of the hot steamy peppers and onions wafted up to his nose, and he closed his eyes as he deeply inhaled the scents. God, he missed his kitchen at home… Was he ever going to see home again? He missed finely chopping jalapeño peppers to get mixed into goat cheese to go into one of his favorite burger dishes at the Brewport Pub. He looked up at Parker and she was knuckles deep into a small box of cereal already. He picked up his fork from next to where he placed Parker's and began to stab green beans.

"How were you planning to get Diego under custody so we can work on him for information…?" Eliot wanted to know. "Quinn's not available…"

"Got it covered."

"I want to know, Parker," he spoke before he put the impaled elongated vegetables in his mouth.

"Sorry, you're not classified to be on a need to know basis."

* * *

Tracey popped up again with his beer and decided not to stay when she felt the tension at the table. She wondered what it was with those two. They didn't seem like brother and sister, and it didn't look like they were lovers or he wouldn't have flirted with her like he had. And what of this, 'Not classified to be on a need to know basis?' Were they with the government? Military? God, she hoped they weren't terrorists. She tried to be ever vigilant since the bombing. Maybe she was just reading too much into something that wasn't there. Oh well, all the good ones were taken anyway or gay in her experience. If she could only meet a hot guy that looked like him and had money, she'd be happier than a hound dog finding a raccoon in a tree. She went back to work as a couple of her regular truckers came in to the counter for a meal.

* * *

"Dammit Parker! What the hell does that mean?"

"Your job is to rest and grieve; not play backseat hitter for the team. Quinn is filling in right where he needs to be in my plans… And when you're better you'll be classified to be in the need to know."

She could see he wasn't happy, especially the way he was stabbing and cutting his meat. Her plan was working to some degree… He wanted to do more for himself, which meant that it was okay to leave him behind to complete the hardest part of her plans… She hoped that he would forgive her the day that Nate, Hardison, and Sophie showed up at the farm in the morning, after she'd left the main house where he was getting soul-restoring sleep.


	77. Chapter 77

**A/N - Well... We have come to this chapter... What a long way! And wasn't it worth all the reading?**

**In this chapter you'll have a good time... And you'll hate me until MOOLA MONDAY.**

**You know I'll make up for it...**

**Read it over and over if you want if it gets you through the weekend... **

**ENJOY and please REVIEW!**

* * *

Tara knocked on Sophie's door as she stood in the hallway to the penthouse suite in her silk pajamas. She had a bag of goodies for girls' night in because they needed to catch up and have some grifter chit-chat time. She'd stopped by the grocery store and picked up a couple Salisbury Steak Hungry Man T.V. dinners for Hardison since he couldn't leave his room to get dinner and two giant bottles of orange soda to keep him company. Within a few moments, Sophie came to the door in her silk pajamas as well and invited her in.

"So, what is with Parker and Eliot?" Tara began as she flopped on the couch.

Sophie secured the door and sat down at the other corner of the couch toward her friend.

"Eliot had an accident while on the job… And Parker's been his self-appointed guardian ever since."

"Oh come on, give me the dirt…"

"Well, you know Parker was with Alec," Sophie began and Tara nodded. "When this accident happened, he did something terribly stupid and it nearly killed him. Parker broke up with him then and Nate sent him off to some geek gatherings to get him away from her for a while. Well… Then when he came back, imagine our surprise, he was married! She's lovely. Parker tolerates her only for the sake of their friendship."

"That's one hell of a rebound… And so what is this between her and Eliot?"

"I guess the best way to put it darling, she's been using magic to heal him, and she's done rituals to bring them closer together…"

"Interesting… Has it worked?"

"Yes and no."

"Why yes and no?"

"Yes, the healing ones helped to get him out of the critical ward faster than at least I thought he would be. However, the poor man found out his father was dying and it's been a nightmare for all of us since."

"I gathered that when I met Cruella DeVille. But how has the magic not worked?"

"Well, they have been fighting each other off and on since he woke up. He wants to be independent and be the man he was before the accident and she's trying to make him slow down and heal. To make him rest so that he comes back to the team strong…"

"It looked to me like she's babying him a bit and he's fighting her on it…"

"Yes, to some degree. When it gets bad, poor Nate or I try to fix the problems… As you heard at the meeting, she won't follow our lead sometimes. Bless her; she wants a relationship with him, terribly…"

"Doesn't she know he's going to hurt her once he gets out of the chair?"

"I don't know, my dear… I've already seen him start to depend on her. She's slowly winning him over, I think."

"Unbelievable… Has he seen through all of her games?"

"Not yet I don't think… He doesn't know about the rituals though. She won't leave Hardison alone with Eliot. She only allows Nate or I to watch over him until she returns. And she's weakly patched things up with Hardison, but I can imagine she's still hurt a bit."

"Understandable."

"She's going to be getting ready for a full moon ritual here soon."

"What kind of rituals does she do?"

"I know she began with a new moon ritual to set her intentions when he first came out of surgery and then at the full moon she did another… It gave the objectives some kind of energy that gave her the power to fulfill those written items she put upon paper at the new moon. At least I think that's how it worked. She has candles, crystals, herbs, and things like that."

"Tell me, do you really believe all that… That it works for real?"

"It doesn't seem that she's pulling a job on him. I believe her feelings are genuine. But you're right darling, I worry that he'll break her heart one day and that will be the end of Leverage Consulting & Associates."

* * *

Five boxes of cereal later, Parker seemed to have calmed down a bit, so Eliot put in an order for Parker's burger and fries… But it was to-go because it started to rain heavily. He still didn't know where she was going to store it on that lean body of hers. The dinner he had was great. It made him miss his kitchen at home too much… Tracey brought the check to the table and placed it next to the bag of to-go food at the edge of the table.

"If there's anything else you need, just let me know. Have a good evening," Eliot nodded and she walked away.

He could see there was something that made the check stick up as he looked at it. Suddenly, Parker made a split-second grab for it and he caught her hand in his grip because she was faster. Abruptly, there it was… They were holding hands and time seemed to stop. It was strange to him for he'd almost forgotten what her hand in his felt like because she hadn't touched him like that since he'd been in the hospital… But then, she wasn't touching him… He had reached for her hand… Odder still, he hadn't let go of it right away. Something was happening to him but he didn't know what to call it…

* * *

Parker realized that the rushing sound of water she heard as she sat at the table was rain outside. She needed to get Eliot back in a hurry. They couldn't stay there all night. So she went to grab for the tab and just as she reached it, his left hand had closed over her right one… And he didn't recoil like she thought he would. She could see that his move surprised him in his eyes as he looked at his hand upon hers. Parker recalled the warmth of his hand when she held the heart between their palms in the hospital. Then the fifty heart beats moment passed and he let go. She picked up the check and he snapped up the small slip of folded paper left on the table. The thief knew exactly what it was… Tracey's number. She couldn't help but admire the woman's determination to get to Eliot… But he wasn't on the market; he was hers… All hers… He just didn't know it yet… Parker stood and went to the counter to pay the bill. Her instincts told her not to leave Tracey a tip with the way she was acting toward her and Eliot… However, she had been a pain yelling her name across the restaurant twice. She figured it would be the last time her and Eliot would be in the diner. If they wanted to eat, Sophie and Tara could be her delivery girls. So the thief didn't add a tip on the check and paid the bill. Then she went back to the table to retrieve Eliot. He had the bag of food in his lap and the golf umbrella in his good hand.

"Looks like you get to fly Parker Air back to the hotel. Can't have you getting soaked through and through."

"It's just water Parker, it won't kill me."

"But if you get wet, your casts might get itchy inside… Infection could get in there… You could lose a leg."

"Dammit Parker, just take me back…" He unlocked the brakes on the chair and she pulled him away from the table.

She paused a moment and he couldn't see why because her back was to him. She slipped a one hundred dollar bill under the pepper shaker. Then she turned and walked away. Just outside the inner door, Eliot opened the umbrella inside. Parker ducked under it as she pulled the hitter out the door, her backside into the rain first. Then she whipped him around and started to speed the chair up the sidewalk. She put her shoes upon two metal rails behind the wheels before she leaned into Eliot's head and rode behind him.

* * *

It only took ten minutes to get back to the hotel. Once they made it into the lobby, the hitter closed the umbrella with one hand on the left. He let it drop water droplets on the carpet as Parker wheeled him toward the elevators. Now all she had to do was get him up to the room and dried off if he was wet anywhere. The rain had been falling harder than she thought. She backed the chair into the room and then turned him around once they were inside. Then she secured the door for the night. Parker then wheeled him into the bedroom and bathroom beyond. After she took off her jacket, she surveyed her own clothing's wetness and found it not too bad. So she went to help Eliot out of his duster trench coat. He had already put the bag of food on the sink counter. With a little help from him she stood him up and got the coat off before she worked off the wet sweat pants off of his casts. Then she helped the hitter sit on the counter while she put a fresh dry towel for him to sit on in the chair; it might even wick up the water as well.

* * *

Eliot watched her act like a little busy beaver silently moving around him, making sure he stayed dry. He wasn't as embarrassed to be without pants as he thought he should have been. They were too wet to stay on anyway. She knelt down in front of him and took the wet socks off his feet and hung both sets up over the shower curtain to dry. His shirt wasn't wet at all so she then wheeled him over to the bed and turned it down before she maneuvered him to the dry sheet. Then Parker stood between his legs and tried to dry any wet hair he had. It was then he noticed she was practically soaked through her clothing. She was dripping all over the floor; her hair wet and clinging to her face. Her breathing was rushed because she was trying to work fast. It hit him then that she had been so gentle with him since he'd been recovering in the hospital, not one moment of her touch had been abrasive… Then he grabbed her left wrist.

"Parker, go take care of yourself. You're dripping all over the floor," he told her softly.

"In just a minute…" spoke as she continued to dry his hair. "There. Now you shouldn't catch a cold from wet hair while you sleep." Then she left him sitting up on his side of the bed and disappeared into the bathroom.

He lifted one leg on his own onto the bed; he didn't have the energy to lift the other one, so he leaned back against his pillow. Eliot figured that Parker would just come and move his leg for him and that maybe he could ask her to stay with him for the night, since she slept in the bathtub the night before… He wondered if she would accept or make him sleep alone…

* * *

Parker went into the bathroom and wrapped a towel around her hair before she went for her backpack. She pulled out some shorts and a t-shirt and changed her clothing. She pulled the hairband from her soggy ponytail and began to dry her hair like she had for Eliot. Then with some work and a comb, she set her hair right to get the rats out. She wrapped her head in another dry towel and then she came back to check on Eliot… He looked somewhat relaxed… The thief wondered if he had fallen asleep because his eyes were closed by the time she came out of the bathroom. She picked up his right leg in the cast and put it up on the bed. Then she looked up and he was awake…

"I thought you were asleep," she spoke just above a whisper.

"No, I just closed my eyes."

"Oh. Well, you're in bed now," she said as she pulled the covers up to his chest.

She tucked him in and made sure he was comfortable. She wanted to get to that burger he made her wait for before it got too cold. Melted lettuce and warped warm tomato just didn't appeal to her gut. So she turned to go, 'Feed the Beast,' as she called it.

"Stay…" she heard behind her and she looked back and he had grabbed her right wrist…


	78. Chapter 78

**A/N - Well, sorry I missed Moola Monday! Couldn't be helped because someone stole gas out of our tank!**

**So here is your update! Not sure we'll be able to come in tomorrow because we're out of funds...**

**And WELCOME to the NEW readers!**

**A/N - The morning after and Lorena gets a phone call...**

**Enjoy and please REVIEW!**

* * *

As soon as the three million dollars appeared in his account, Colonel Michael Vance knew that Parker wasn't joking. Then a few minutes later he got a text from an unknown source. Sure he could have traced it but, that would have been a waste of time because if the message it contained. He was to fly first to Oklahoma City on Thursday, November 1st, and go to a location to be sent to him later. His, 'Prisoner,' would be there for his interrogation. He didn't know that Tara would be handing him off at the location. Then he needed to fly to San Francisco and meet up with Parker on Monday, November 8th at a secret location that was to be texted to him later as well. Michael went to work and cleared his calendar for the whole month. If he could tie this up by the 22nd, his wife wouldn't be upset that he had to miss Thanksgiving dinner with his family. Eliot Spencer was as close to a brother as he could get, except by blood. They were already brothers in arms and Vance's kids liked having Uncle Eliot around. The Colonel could only imagine what Eliot was going through with what Parker had vaguely told him. So he waited until the staff had gone home for the evening, started typing away on his computer, and did research on drug cartels from Brazil…

* * *

"Relax… I won't be long," Parker softly spoke with one of her easy smirks.

She reached back and turned off the light on his nightstand and then pulled away to leave. Fortunately, the burger wasn't wrapped all together. The patty was a little cold so she nuked it in the microwave for 30 seconds before it went back to the bun. Parker built the burger with the packets of mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, lettuce, tomato, and two large pickle slices. As she started in on that, she heated the fries a little as well and grabbed a water bottle from the in-room refrigerator. The blond thief checked her texts from Hardison and told him to start phase two… To contact Beta Team and fake arrest Diego with whatever means necessary. And like Eliot had thought, somewhere, Parker found room for the burger and fries. She went in and brushed her teeth before she slipped into bed with Eliot; the top sheet between their bodies and her back to his back.

* * *

Eliot closed his eyes when she pulled away… Disappointed that she didn't want to stay, but some hope hung on… She said she wouldn't be away long. So, that meant she was coming back. Then the thought hit him, since when was he suddenly wanting to be around Parker. He usually found ways to get away from her to keep the balance between sanity and insanity level. It seemed to him like the scales had been slightly tilted… Because it was insanity to, 'want,' to get involved with the hyperactive thief… He sighed as he couldn't sleep; not with her in the next room. So, Eliot just lay there in the darkness of the room after the hitter rolled onto his right side. About twenty minutes later according to his internal clock, he heard the bathroom light switch flip on. The sink turned on and he heard brushing… Her teeth; they were so beautiful when she smiled. Dammit! No, no more thoughts like that… Because then he'd have to start thinking about how his hand felt holding hers at the restaurant earlier… Dammit! Eliot tried to clear his mind, and then he felt movement on the bed behind him. Instead of her backside against his, he felt a sheet covered backside against his. He didn't understand the reasoning behind her putting the sheet between them… Then he wondered; was it out of friendship that she put the sheet between them or was it some other underlying issue…? Soon the warmth of her came through the material and he felt right… Parker was close by where he could protect her and that meant she was safe. It didn't take long after that, that the hitter fell asleep.

* * *

"It was one of Nate's fears when we were in the chapel; that the team dynamic was going to change. He didn't want to discuss it because it was pointless without Eliot's input."

"Well, look at him, Eliot's not a one woman kind of man. And he's got a lot of baggage from a dark past. What would make us believe he's even interested in getting involved with her?" Tara said as she got up to make some popcorn. "Does he seem to be the type to be allowed to be changed by a woman?"

"It all seems so one-sided on her part, but there's no doubt he'll have to change if he wants to be with her… He hasn't tried harder to fight for control… I've seen how he's kind of given up… He lets her go ahead and lets her pamper him. That's not the Eliot I know. And yes, there was a woman on a job with horses a while back… Apparently, they had a long history together… He wasn't the same after that job."

"But all men like to be pampered by a woman when they're ill, doesn't matter the age, Doll," Tara reminded her of some grifter insights.

"True… So, what's going on between you and Quinn, darling?"

In the morning, Eliot woke before Parker and he felt something heavy across his abdomen. He looked down to see a pink, lithe arm draped across his flesh. He checked his internal clock and then the one on the night stand. The hitter had slept eight hours without waking up once. He did feel rested and good enough to go make breakfast, but he wasn't at home, and Parker… Well, she was still asleep. Eliot figured she must have rolled and snuggled into his back sometime during the night. He watched her, still asleep, as she rolled over and sighed. He wanted to stay in bed, but his bladder had other motives. The hitter decided to make it on his own and then come back to her. Maybe she'd roll back to him and plant her arm on him again… They didn't really have anywhere to be… A few more peaceful hours of sleep wouldn't be bad. But then that voice inside his head began to talk to him.

"Yeah but you'd be sleeping with Parker. You know what it could lead to… You didn't want to get involved with her in the first place, dammit!"

It seemed like she would be easy to care for but she was also high maintenance. No, Sophie was high maintenance… Parker was complicated. He didn't want more complication in his life. No, he needed quiet and simple… Time alone was what he needed; away from all the distractions… Eliot sat back down in the chair and turned to head back to bed, only to find it empty. Dammit! There went the extra rest… But where was his bed companion?

* * *

Parker had woken up when she heard water running… No, someone was peeing in the toilet bowl. She woke up and remembered where she was. She got up and snuck past Eliot to go make some coffee. The day had started without her and she needed some Go-Go Juice; her coffee. She found her phone where she left it charging, on the little desk next to the television containing piece of furniture. The thief sent Hardison a text to go ahead and have Tara call Lorena with an offer on the property. She authorized a one million dollar bid. No more, no less; she'd even take it as is. Alice Cline was a German-American who had dual citizenship and she was buying a vacation home in the United States. She wanted the property right away because she had relatives in Nebraska she wanted to have them come visit her for the Thanksgiving holiday… Fortunately, Hardison had been up and got her message right away. He had just finished uploading Alice Cline's falsified history on the internet. Parker told him to let her know when Lorena had taken the bait, because one of the teams she had hired had stayed in Oklahoma so she was going to have them cover the house in tenting to make it look like the house was being inspected and tented; just in case Lorena happened to come by.

* * *

Hardison rang Sophie's room and woke up the grifter who'd fallen asleep. Somehow she'd made it in to the bedroom but she couldn't remember how.

"Phase two, baby. Is Tara up?"

"I doubt it, darling, since you woke me up," Sophie said a bit sleepy.

"Sorry, my bad. Soon as you can, I need Tara down here."

"Will do," she spoke and then the line went click.

Then he noticed he was getting low on orange soda… So he called the grifter again.

"Sophie? Could yawl see fit to have Tara bring some orange soda when she comes down…?"

"Uh… Um yeah," Sophie kind of mumbled.

"Thanks."

* * *

Tara came down to Hardison's room in a t-shirt and jeans. She'd fallen asleep on the couch under a throw blanket. She had stopped by her room, changed clothes, and then went to the end of the hall to the vending machine with her change purse. So, there she was with two twenty ounce bottles of orange soda. He opened the door and returned to the seat before his laptop; Tara sat on the end of the bed.

"What's the objective," the blond woman asked.

"You gonna call Lorena and let her know you've had an offer on the house…" Hardison began to fill her in.

The grifter took a minute and got her mind together and then Hardison handed her the untraceable phone they were using for the job. It had a modification on it that allowed the hacker to listen in on the conversation via his computer. She listened for the rings of calling Lorena's line…

"Hello?"

"This is Holly Green; we have good news Mrs. Spencer! There's been an offer on the property."

"Really? That's great… So soon? How'd it happen so fast?" The woman asked unsure if it was the truth or not.

"I utilized the power of the internet that afternoon we took a look at it. Anyone at all hours of the day or night could have searched for it through my website. And we had a bid sometime last night… It's a woman German-American woman who's looking to buy it as a vacation home. She wants her family in Nebraska to visit for Thanksgiving… She wants it right away; she'll even take it as is. I have a crew going out today to inspect and tent the home today."

"What's her bid?"

"She's offering one million… Cash."

"Deal," Lorena said as she saw dollar signs. "Have you checked this woman out? Is she good for it?"

"I called her bank before I called you; she's good for it."

"Then sell it to her. What's her name? Oh nevermind. Just give me a call when the sale is complete."

"I will and then you can pick up the money from the sale."

"I won't need to sign anything will I?"

"Just a little paperwork. You said you wanted it to be legal, but mainly it's just the receipt."

"That's fine. You have a nice day."

"Thank you and to you, the same."

* * *

Tara hung up and took a deep breath… This stuff was just chicken scratch but the woman was falling for it. Greed was a terrible thing…

"Do we have a location where I can set up an office?" She asked the hacker.

"Yeah; across town. There's a building… I set up someone to suddenly win a sweepstakes. She's about to give her whole office the day off. We should go get the check made up at a copy place, but every where's closed, 'cause it's Sunday. That can be picked up on Monday before we take over her office. Maleficent there, she'll get, 'arrested by the FBI,' on Wednesday. We should have this damn thing wrapped up with the dragon by Friday. Quinn will be coming back to the U.S. of A. on Tuesday to retrieve Diego for us…"


	79. Chapter 79

**A/N - This chapter, literally was a witch with a capital B to write. I had some blocks and then from somewhere, the muses pulled together and helped me write this... **

**A/N - See you on Friday! I hope... We put more gas in the car today...**

**Enjoy and please REVIEW!**

* * *

Parker finished her cup of coffee and called Sophie. The grifter had finally gotten up after Alec's second call. The thief asked her to bring something for breakfast as they were no longer using room service. Then she went back into the bedroom where she found Eliot trying to put on a dry pair of sweatpants all by himself. His arm in the soft cast was out of the sling and he was using it with not too much difficulty. She figured he didn't have much pain with it or he wouldn't be trying to get dressed on his own. However, the thief knew he couldn't take it totally off until he'd seen a doctor. Though she wouldn't put it past him to take it off anyway if he thought it was fully healed. He couldn't take a relapse if it wasn't fully alright. He spotted her so it was too late to back out of the room.

"You just gonna stand there?"

"Yup."

"Could you get me a shirt?"

"Maybe… Why're you using that arm?"

"It feels fine, Parker."

"Don't blame me when it hurts later," she said as she pushed herself from the wall and retrieved him a clean t-shirt from the dresser.

She tossed it into his lap and went about her morning routine…

* * *

Half an hour later, there was a knock on the door. Parker rushed to check who it was through the small viewer into the hall. Sophie had arrived with breakfast from the little restaurant in the hotel. She decided to take a risk since it wasn't room service headed to her room; she could have been any other guest. Still, the grifter was going to have Eliot smell the food just in case… The thief let her in and made for the bags of food…

"Morning, Eliot darling, how did you fair last night?"

Parker kept her gaze on the food instead of sharing a look with the hitter. Sophie would have picked up on that immediately and she also kept her face from flushing as well as she waited for Eliot to respond. She knew he would be tired once he got dressed and she found him just sitting in his chair with his t-shirt half way on after she finished getting set for the day; his breathing seemed a bit labored. She figured he must have lost too much energy that he couldn't lift his arms up to get his head closer to put through the hole. So Parker went ahead, took charge, and helped him the rest of the way. Then she wheeled him into the living area and helped him get into a lounge chair this time. She lifted his cast covered legs one leg at a time to set them down on a pillow upon the coffee table in front of the Hide-A-Bed couch. Then she gave him some Go-Go Juice and waited for Sophie.

"I got some sleep."

"And you Parker? How'd you fair?"

"Which one's mine?"

"The pancakes. Smell them first; they're from Ciao Aroma downstairs. The cheese omelet and hash browns are Eliot's," Sophie handed the box to Eliot from her position on the couch.

The simple white bag was Sophie's butter croissant sandwich with egg and ham. Then plastic-ware was passed around. Parker let Eliot handle the box on his own, giving him a little more space in front of the grifter. She smelled her pancakes and began to pick at them without the syrup. There was nothing like Eliot's maple syrup at the Bridgeport. He ordered it fresh from the trees he said… Or something like that.

"I did okay; I think. I was asleep. How's it going with Tara?" She asked after she stuffed a small bite of pancake into her mouth.

"She called me after she made the call. Lorena took the bait… She's the easiest mark we've had to date, I think. Tara and I will be picking up some things we need and taking over a real estate office soon. And then we'll, arrest her after she signs the paperwork."

* * *

Sophie couldn't put her finger on it but something was wrong with the energy of the room. Parker wasn't cutting up Eliot's food before he got it. True, it wasn't hard to cut up, but something felt off. She decided to let it go for the time being. When they were done handling Lorena, she decided it was time to have another talk with the healing hitter.

* * *

Eliot sat in a lounge chair with his casts up on a pillow on top of the coffee table slowly sipping a mug of coffee Parker handed him a few minutes before the sudden knock on the door. He wasn't too surprised to see Sophie with bags of something. She did that quite a lot when she went shopping… Something smelled good. She asked how he'd slept and the only thing he could think to say was that he got some sleep. If he opened his mouth and said Parker shared his bed, the grifter would jump all over it. And then Parker did her thing and was vague as she possibly could have been; which was normal for her. It was good to hear that Lorena was falling into their trap so easily… But there was always a way for things to go south when it looked pretty as a picture on the outside. Now if only he could make Parker see that…

* * *

It was a pretty quiet afternoon that Sunday… Sophie hung out with her and Eliot. The grifter had managed to sit through two American football games and they were on their third when Hardison and Tara showed up with a couple of pizzas. Parker slipped out of the room after the group moved the hitter to the couch and he nodded off after a long afternoon with all the company. The party of three would be able to watch over Eliot while she took some time on her own to go over the information that Hardison had brought along with the pizza. After the payoff to Diego Rodriguez from Lorena he got out of the medical profession on advice from his family. So he was sent to help out with the family business, and to help with the shipment from Chile to Los Angeles. Though they had no intelligence as to what he was actually going to be doing yet…

* * *

Hardison came out of the room about an hour later, quietly, leaving the two grifters to watch over Eliot. He went in search of Parker and didn't have to go far. She was at the end of the hall staring out a window into the cityscape; it had gotten dark from the storm yet there were with millions of lights lighting the low clouds that brought more rain for the rest of the night. He worried that his friend had taken on too much alone… However, her plans had worked out so far without any consequences. Alec watched the thief for a few moments before she turned her head to look at him because his reflection appeared behind her. He worried that she hadn't even noticed that he had been there at least five minutes. Where had she gone? The hacker flopped down into the lounge chair by the window and put his laptop on the small table between the chairs.

"Hey… You okay?"

"Yeah, fine… Why?"

"Nothin' just seemed like you were off playin' space invaders with E.T."

"Nope. I've been right here."

"Talk to me, what's up mama? You've always been able to talk to the genius."

"Some things I can't tell you. The time isn't right."

"Oh. You thinkin' of backin' out now? I know I said I didn't like it… But things are runnin' pretty good."

"I know… I just have to find a way to walk away from Eliot… I have to give him some space since I've taken control of his life since his head landed in my lap."

For once Alec didn't know what to say. He knew that his friend, his brother in crime, would be terrified when he couldn't find Parker. He'd want to know second by second details… The hacker would have some ears but it all depended on what the thief wanted him and the others to hear.

"What if he's so hurt he'll ever trust me again…? What if he takes off, Alec?"

"I don't think we'd let him get that far. You've been good for him, girl. He just don't know it yet…"

"But what if we get through all this and get him to the farm and he bolts."

"First off, he cain't bolt. He's got two casts on his legs… Second, you know Sophie will sort him out… And if that don't work, I'll give him a Bro-to-Bro talk. Last but not least… There's Nate. Don't forget you have friends Parker; friends who want to see Eliot back on his feet and you both happy."

"I could sick Beretta on him…"

"That's right… Yeah, it's gonna hurt some, but he needs to see what he's missing out on if he walks away…"

"Sophie once told me if someone loves something, they have to let it go. If it comes back to them, it's meant to be. If it doesn't… Start over with something new."

"Yeah, and how many times has she and Nate started over?"

"But they're meant to be. He keeps coming back…"

"And she has to run to make him see what he needs to see to bring him back."

"Okay, so I have to run to make Eliot see what he needs to see to bring him back?"

"You got it, baby."

* * *

"Vance should be in position soon. As soon as we land in Portland, go ahead and send him the location to pick up Diego. We must be home no later than Wednesday… I have a private Halloween party planned for Eliot. The sooner the better."

"You sure he's going to wanna party after the long flight home?"

"Sure, he's gonna take a nap… I know I shouldn't but, he'll be fine. I have people already decorating the property… They start tomorrow," she had planned to slip Eliot something again to help him sleep.

Her teams had already been sent word about Operation Bump-In-The-Night… The farm would be totally decorated for a country, fall look. Not too many pumpkins with silly faces and not too scary looking…

"How?"

"I know people who know people…" Parker narrowed her eyes at him, being very secretive.

"Back to what I came out here for… Sophie and Tara thought we should go get dinner from the restaurant downstairs. I thought about Subway if you're up to getting a little wet…"

"How's Eliot?"

"Still sleepin' when I left. The ladies are watching some chick flick called, 'Just Married.' Oh, and I'm supposed to get 'em popcorn and snacks."

"Wanna watch me break into the vending machines?" She teased…


	80. Chapter 80

**A/N - This was an interesting chapter to write... But it's about time... I think.**

**Don't you?**

**WARNING: BRING TISSUES BEFORE READING!**

**A/N - This is the last one until Monday! Not sure with gramma coming home that there will be an update on Monday though. See you back here!**

**Ps. To Miss Florida who loves my evil laugh... THANK YOU for your time and chats! Bwhahahahaha! **

**You know the drill! Enjoy and please REVIEW!**

* * *

Late that Sunday night, Hardison and the harem of ladies helped put Eliot to bed so that Parker didn't have to, and then they said their good nights.

"You okay, Parker?" Sophie asked as she stood in the hall.

"Yeah, I'm good. Um… Thanks for today."

"No problem. Just let us know if you need anything else. We're here, at least for a few more days."

"I know."

"Do you need one of us to drive you? I know it's going to be a rough day with Eliot tomorrow… Try not to be too crazy; be a shoulder for him."

"Pshh, I got it. We're leaving here slightly early before the mortuary opens… One thing you could do for us… We're running out of clean clothes…"

"I'll take up that mission with Tara after the police take custody of Lorena, alright?" The grifter softly spoke.

Parker nodded in agreement. Then Sophie turned and headed toward the elevator. The thief watched her until the doors closed. She secured the door and turned down the Hide-A-Bed couch instead of sleeping with Eliot. If she had gone in, she might wake him, and he was sleep… And if she had shared the bed, it might have been expected by the hitter that she would just share it. However, Parker was trying to change his view of her… That maybe she wasn't so crazy like he always claimed she was… Maybe she was just more normal than he expected. She went to the safe and took out her Bunny; she needed the stuffed animal to help her sleep… Parker slipped in between the sheets and curled up in a fetal position with Bunny tucked into her chest.

* * *

In the morning, Eliot became conscious of the fact that there wasn't a weight across his abdomen. His left hand reached out and the other side of the bed was cold. Then he opened his eyes… Parker wasn't there. His heart began to beat faster… Then that internal voice that ruled over his heart came up to remind him of some things… Since when had he expected Parker to be there when he woke up? Why was he expecting her to be there? She had shared his bed twice… Maybe he had counted on third time was the charm a little too much, but then she wasn't there. Had he scared her off? Was it because of the company they had yesterday? His mind made his heart realize that he had no claim to her… And then he growled as he threw the covers back. Dammit! Why should he want a claim to her? She was still just as crazy as the first day he met her, maybe even more so than that first day! She was still that twenty pounds of crazy in a five pound bag… He sat up and moved his legs one at a time to the floor. The hitter sighed… It was the day he had to have his father cremated. He wondered why he hadn't seen the spirit of his father in a while…

Then Parker sashayed into the room in a different dress than he'd seen before. This one was a simple black tunic dress with and a little Bolero long sleeve sweater to cover her shoulders. She had a single band of small pearls around her neck and her hair was perfectly pulled back in a high ponytail. He didn't really want to know where she got any of it… Eliot tried not to pay attention to how damn fabulous her long legs looked in that dress, so he tried to down play it in his mind and decided she looked nice. His mind wouldn't let him tell her so, because he was afraid she'd become more attached to him, and more so because it didn't want to let his heart get attached in return.

"Time to get you lookin' spiffy," Parker announced as she hung up his other suit on the trim over the door.

And next thing he knew he was dressed and ready to go. She grabbed a clutch purse and they were off. The hitter was glad that the rain had cleared up overnight and then he suddenly wondered what happened to coffee and breakfast… Once she had him settled into the Suburban, he saw what she had in mind… There was a Starbucks next to a McDonalds up the street. Heh, progressive breakfast. She killed the engine at Starbucks and left the keys in the ignition.

"Bacon or sausage? Or um… Ham?"

"Bacon," he said, but he wasn't sure why.

Then she slipped out of the driver's seat and headed off to collect their meal. Almost a half hour later she returned with breakfast. She got him a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit and pumpkin spice coffee with caramel and whipped topping, though he hadn't been able to see it through the black lid on top of the cup. She got a chocolate mocha something and an egg and sausage biscuit. He dove into his food but was careful not to get it all over his clothing. He didn't like it, but Parker ate as she drove them the rest of the way to the mortuary. He didn't care for distracted drivers very much.

* * *

Parker sat next to Eliot in the office as he went through all the paperwork he needed to. Once he signed the paperwork, the mortuary's staff could send his dad to the crematorium. Then they had to go to the crematorium and positively certify that his father had made it to the location. She tried to keep calm and still for Eliot, but from time to time she started to tap her foot in her black ballet flat shoes. She was getting bored… And then it was time to get Eliot to the crematorium.

"I don't like funerals," she said when it got too quiet on the ride to the location they needed to be at.

Eliot didn't talk at all and spent most of the time looking out the window…

"No one, 'likes,' funerals, Parker."

"Nuh ah. Undertakers do… That's how they make money."

"I suppose," Eliot said low and went back to staring out the window. "We'll all have to have one someday."

"Nope, I'm gonna live forever," she tried to make him smile but it didn't work.

The thief left him alone after that…

* * *

At the crematorium, Parker wheeled Eliot into a small rectangular room with burgundy and black wallpaper until it reached a black chair rail. Then below it was solid burgundy red paint. There were three chairs along one wall and three more in the middle of the room for seating; a long thin strip of track lighting hung over head. She couldn't imagine that people wanted to come and watch that people wanted an audience while their bodies burned. The blond parked Eliot next to the three tan folding chairs in the middle of the room. They filled out and signed paperwork, but then the positive identification still had to happen before they could begin.

* * *

Eliot sat in the wheelchair in front of a long glass window that had a burgundy red curtain in front of it. He knew what was coming next and he needed to get Parker out of the room for a few minutes.

"I need to do this alone, Parker."

"Why?"

"Because this is something I don't want you to see."

"Shouldn't you have friends around you?"

"Dammit Parker!" He barked and then realized he shouldn't have been so harsh with her. "Just go wait outside a few minutes."

He really hadn't wanted to bark at her but she wasn't getting it, that he needed privacy. They were going to wheel him in to a room beyond the dark red walls and put the box on the floor so that he could positively identify the body. His father hadn't been embalmed and it had already been several days since he had passed; though he had been on ice until the team had picked him up for the funeral… Things were starting to smell. Then they would wheel him back into the room and when he was ready, he would have to press the green button on the wall next to the window. A worker came out with a mask on and offered Eliot one. Then he wheeled him to where they already had his father's box on the ground. They uncovered his face and it was an image that was instantly burned into Eliot's brain. He nodded and gave a thumb up that it was his father. The worker had him put his John Hancock on a form before another worker returned him to the burgundy red room.

"Parker?"

She must have been listening at the door, waiting for him to call upon her because she was suddenly there.

"Yup, did you need somethin'?"

"I could use a friend," he couldn't believe he admitted it.

* * *

Parker couldn't believe he'd said it either… The last time he said he'd needed her to do something for him, racehorses and an ex-girlfriend were involved; this occasion was much different. He hadn't actually said that he needed her but she accepted that it was probably as close as she was going to get him to say that he needed her. She went to him and placed her hands on each side of his shoulders.

"I need to go press that button," Eliot pointed to the wall.

She moved him closer and he pressed it before she moved him back so that he could see through the window. After the button had been pushed, the curtain began to retreat. Then Parker put her nimble hands back on his shoulders as she stood behind him.

"The time to hesitate is through. No time to wallow in the mire. Try now we can only lose. And our love become a funeral pyre. Come on baby, light my fire. Try to set the night on… Fire," Parker rocked out for a minute as she watched the workers put Eliot's father's box into the incinerator.

"Dammit Parker!" Eliot barked at her.

"What'd I do?" She had no idea what had just happened.

* * *

The blond thief really had no idea what had just occurred because it wasn't her… It was someone using her voice… Eliot had been sitting there as he watched his father's box go into the incinerator. Then he began to hear Parker goofing off… There weren't many good things he recalled about his father, but the hitter smirked and remembered that his dad had a love for 60's music. He liked more genres than just the 60's but it was his favorite of all. Somehow, the more he thought about it, it was like his father was talking to him through the thief… Suddenly, he missed his old man… And that was just the trigger that broke down the wall to his emotions. They were alone in the room and Eliot began to quietly weep as he sat in the chair; he began to grieve for the time he'd lost with him because of situations he couldn't control and his own wounded pride. When the box containing his father was engulfed in flames; the worker began to close the metal door to the furnace and the curtain began to close as well.

* * *

Parker could tell that her friend was hurting… So she pulled a folding chair over so she would be at Eliot's level and sat. Then she wrapped both of her arms around his shoulders at first and then when she pulled him into her, she cradled his head on her right shoulder; her right hand rested on the back of his head. She didn't think he would let her pull him into her and she was prepared for that with a box of Kleenex in her lap, but he caved and easily fell into her shoulder. The thief didn't understand what had happened that he had barked at her but she knew she wouldn't walk away… Because she wanted to be the shoulder he cried on… He'd done as much for her when that fake psychic had turned her world upside down. She snuck over to his place late at night because Eliot made her feel safe. Hardison had been sound asleep on the couch after a marathon of World of Warcraft gaming. He didn't know how to comfort her like she needed and she really didn't want him to. She wanted her rock… Well, Parker was going to be Eliot's rock.


	81. Chapter 81

**A/N - See, what did I tell ya... You needed those tissues, didn't ya? **

**Don't get rid of them so soon... But, I promise, by the end of the chapter, you ****will be in a better mood...**

**A/N - Have a good weekend!**

**Enjoy and please REVIEW!**

* * *

The blond thief held on to her friend and when he wrapped his left arm around and his hand gripped her dress, she knew he was opening his heart to her whether he knew it or not. Her own eyes began to tear up from feeling Eliot in so much pain. She didn't mind that his tears were making her jacket wet; it was a small price to pay for getting the usually tough hitter to open up with her. She was glad that the rest of the team wasn't there… He wouldn't have wanted them to see him breaking apart. Parker felt him start to pull away and her hands let him go before her right hand picked out some Kleenex to hand to him from the box. She took some out for herself as well to wipe away the tracks of her tears…

* * *

Eliot hadn't realized that when the flood gates would opened that it wouldn't just be for his father. No, he cried some as well for his dear mother he didn't get to say good-bye to like he had his father. He missed her a lot as well. Then he realized that his face was buried in someone's shoulder… He sniffed and smelled jasmine and lavender. He remembered who was there with him and he bolstered his pride before he backed away from Parker. Eliot took the offered Kleenex; took care of his face, and then he noticed that the blond thief had dabbed her eyes as well… That tugged at his heart strings and it made his chest hurt a little, that Parker cared enough to share her emotions with him…

"We should go," he finally said after a mild awkward pause.

"Yeah, Tara should be about ready to meet Lorena…" she softly spoke as she stood.

Before long, they were back at the hotel and headed for Hardison's room. It was much like Eliot and Parker's but his living area was full of computers and expensive equipment. In the bedroom was where he stored the hard-shell cases that all that equipment got shipped in. Parker wheeled him into the room and parked him close to the Hide-A-Bed couch like the one in their room. He locked the breaks and took the time on his own to get out of the chair without help. Then he allowed his body to melt into the fabric of the couch.

* * *

The ride back had been eerily quiet and Parker let Eliot have it that way on purpose. Like she'd told Sophie, she had things under control… They went right to Hardison's room to listen in to how it all was going down. They didn't have anything clean to change into anyway. She had a feeling Eliot wanted out of the chair for a while, so she'd parked him close to the couch as she could get him, then like a mother bird letting her young try to fly out of the nest, she let the hitter get himself out of the chair. Hardison gave her a look and then she shrugged and took up a seat in a lounge chair to Hardison's right; she toed off her shoes and tucked her legs under her. Parker supposed that later, she might be able to get Eliot to open up later when it was time to go to bed…

* * *

The hacker picked up on a weird vibe between the hitter and the thief. Usually, she had him help lift Eliot to move him out of the chair, but this time, she let Eliot do it on his own… He supposed that was a good thing. Because, when she wasn't going to be there at the farm, he was going to have to do things for himself. Alec worried that Eliot might get back into getting used to doing things for himself and then realize that he didn't need Parker to do anything for him anymore. He gave her his best, 'What The Hell,' look and she shrugged. Perfect… Anyway, back to business… The computer genius began to type away and then began testing the long-range ear buds he'd created after going to Geek Con. The usual ones they had for jobs were for short to medium range. Most of the time Hardison was only a block away in Lucille when they used those. The new ones were capable of going a mile or more away, up to ten miles.

_"Sound off ladies, checking range and quality now," he began._

_"Half an hour until Lorena arrives," Tara spoke._

_"I wish the others were here for this," Sophie said._

_"Don't worry; the others are watching the live feed from my computer…"_

_"But how?" The dark haired grifter asked._

_"Because, I am a genius… All set ladies."_

It was Tuesday at two in the morning in Brisbane, and downstairs in the dining room on a table, Nate had a video hook-up via satellite on a computer Hardison set up before they left. Quinn had already left them with weapons he could get on short notice in case they needed protection. He left late Monday night to be able to get to California at a decent hour. So there was Beretta and Nate about to be watching what was on Hardison's screen; the others were sleeping soundly in their rooms. Hardison couldn't see them, but then that wasn't the point of setting up the video link. To keep the line open so they could see what was going on, Beretta decided to text Parker instead of talking out in the open where Eliot could over hear.

[MrsWBMama: How's Eliot? B.]

[SpiderMonkey: I can't talk now. Lorena just arrived. P.]

[MrsWBMama: 'Kay, text me when you can. B.]

Beretta sent up a silent prayer that everything went according to plan and her mother went to jail for the rest of her natural life… She hated to be that way about her mother, but the woman deserved exactly what Eliot and his friends could dish out at her. Anything to keep her precious children safe from that murdering woman's hands…

* * *

Tara and Sophie didn't have to change the name on the signs out front of the building because they were actually Green and Rally Realty. The two grifters walked in a little after ten in the morning and gave away the made up check they had made to go on a poster board check. Shelley Green, the boss gave everyone the day off, which wasn't hard since it wasn't a big office. There were two other desks besides hers. And there were those grey padded cubicle walls up already; they gave the feeling of a real office without it looking too much like a set up. Sophie took up her position, looking ready to pounce on the mark, wearing Hardison's FBI jacket and all the appropriate gear. Tara sat at the boss' desk and put away the family pictures or anything that could jeopardize the moment Lorena came to the desk. Hardison began to count down Lorena's arrival via the GPS tracker that Parker's team had put under the woman's car while she and Tara were in looking around the house. The blond grifter made sure the copy place had printed everything just right and then she signed the parts that needed signing by Holly Green.

The call went out from Sophie with one of her brilliant accents, faking as Holly's office manager about to take off for lunch, that Holly had the check from the sale for her, and if she could please come down and pick it up. Oh, of course… And the game was on.

* * *

Lorena parked her vehicle in the side lot next to the building. She walked to the front door and went in. The place looked deserted and she wondered if something was going on…

"Hello? Anyone here?"

"Yes, is that you, Missus Spencer?" a woman yelled over the walls.

"Please… Call me Lorena," she followed the voice to the back of the office.

"So sorry, my staff went to lunch a little early today."

"That's not really my concern. Someone called and said you had a check ready for me?" She was all steel and no heart.

"Yes. Here it is… Holly said as she picked up the check from the folder on the desk.

The Black Widow had no idea that it was a folder containing everything the team had on Lorena's past and the murders on her desk.

"The inspections passed and the tents come off tomorrow."

"Again, that's not my problem," she really just wanted to get the check so she could leave.

Enrique wanted to go to California to visit family in Los Angeles and so first thing after she got that check, she was supposed to head to the private jet he had waiting.

"True, forgive me. Now, here is the receipt of the sale for me to give her. Please press deeply as there is three pages to go through. One is for my office, one is for the new owner, and the last copy is for you."

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to be so short with you. I don't want to be late for my flight."

Lorena took the pen the blond offered her and signed the three page copy; then handed it back. The woman she knew as Holly then handed her the check and stood.

"And that does it. Congratulations on the sale."

"Thank you," she shook Holly's offered hand.

* * *

Then while the blond grifter had been busy, Sophie got into position at the front door. Lorena couldn't see her standing there in Hardison's FBI jacket. Then the woman they were after saw her…

"Lorena Spencer?"

"Yes?"

"We would like to take you in for some questioning regarding the death of one Michael Geary Dalton," Sophie spoke with her best American accent.

"Never heard of him, now please get out of my way.

"And now we have probable cause to arrest you for theft of property that wasn't yours to sell, trespassing, and extortion…" Tara came up behind her in Parker's FBI jacket.

"But you're…" Lorena was suddenly tongue tied.

"This is Special Agent Bonnie Kramer and I am Special Agent Tanya Kale with the FBI and you just sold a house that you had no right to sell," Tara spoke as she showed the woman their seemingly real identification. "Please put your hands behind your back."

"Entrapment, this is entrapment," she yelled as Sophie put hand cuffs on the woman's wrists behind her back and they walked her right out to the black Denali parked in the side lot.

"Now… What can you tell us about a man named Diego Rodriguez?" Tara asked once they got her into the back seat and buckled in.

"I'm not saying a word until I see a lawyer. I need to make a phone call…"

* * *

Sophie and Tara drove to an abandoned warehouse on a lot ten miles from any nearest help. Inside the warehouse, a long table and three chairs had been set up. They brought Lorena in and made her sit in the gray folding chair. Before they had started the day, Tara and Sophie had flipped a quarter… The dark haired grifter was going to be the good one and the blond grifter would be the bad one that would make Beretta's mother break down and make her talk.

* * *

It didn't take Lorena long to figure out where she'd seen the dark haired one… Then she'd decided that they weren't really FBI agents so she didn't have to tell them a damn thing. That's where she was wrong…


	82. Chapter 82

**A/N - Howdy! I survived gramma coming home, but then I almost fell... But I sent tea and strawberry shortcake flying across the room. Parker giggled and Eliot gave her a Dammit Parker, that's not funny!**

**A/N - This chapter is brought to you by ****Hooked on Classics which is classical music set to a Disco beat... Parker's idea. Lou Bega's Mambo, Mambo, and The Pink Panther Strikes Again Soundtrack... My idea, because the Pink Panther song reminds me of Parker. **

**I hope this feeds your desire to have Parker finally get what she's after... Eliot's heart... Because there is a full moon for her to play with...**

**A/N - If you don't understand the rituals, then just ignore it, but take away that Parker is using magic to attract what she wants... And right now, I think it attracts more readers...**

**Enjoy and we'll see you on WALL SAFE WEDNESDAY to get you over that mid week hump!**

* * *

Quinn got off his Qantas flight and he never could get used to the fact that by his watch, he landed in Los Angeles before the time he left Australia. At least he knew he was now in the right time zone and it was still in the same day, Monday. He came a day early to have time to get Diego for his temporary boss' team. He made some phone calls to contacts of his own outside of Hardison and found out that Mr. Rodriguez was part of a team waiting for the shipment of cocaine coming from Chile. The temporary replacement hitter decided to shoot from the hip as to how he was going to approach Diego. Parker gave him enough freedom to move anyway he needed; it was all in the documents Hardison emailed to his phone. The main objective was to get Diego alone where he could take him… So he went in the side door of the warehouse and walked up about forty feet away from the five men sitting at a table playing cards.

"Quem foi este homem branco? (Who was this white man?)

"Diego, didn't you get the message?"

"What message?"

'Ah-ha. Gotcha…' Quinn thought as the man in question spoke to him…

"You were supposed to meet me half an hour ago…"

"What the hell? Why would I want to meet with you?"

"Enrique and his woman are flying in today; I work for her, and if we don't leave now, I can't pick them up. I was instructed to take you to the airport to meet them."

"Foder… Must be something going on if Enrique's coming to town…" (Fuck…)

"I have our car waiting outside."

One of the men told Diego that he should go with the man and check things out in Portuguese. None of the men with him spoke any English because they were all from Brazil. So, happy go lucky, and almost late Diego walked out with Quinn. As soon as they reached the car, instead of opening the door, the hitter's fist made contact with Diego's left jaw with his best right hook. In minutes, not only was Diego unconscious but the hitter had him tied up and tied down in the back of his rented silver Honda Odyssey. Normally he wouldn't have gotten a van, but he had to sell the part. They were supposed to be going to the airport… Sometimes vans were made into taxies. Well this time Quinn was going to taxi Mr. Rodriguez to a separate location set up for holding his charge for a day until it was time. The hitter was supposed to let him stew for a while… Until Tara and Sophie brought Lorena and made them believe they were being arrested. But Diego still had to go through an interrogation by Colonel Vance… At that point, they would split them up. Lorena would go to the local police in Oklahoma City and jail for a very long time, and Diego would be put through the ringer until he squealed on members of his family he was working for.

* * *

"Did you or did you not pay one Mr. Diego Rodriguez to help murder your husband, Franklin Spencer?" Tara was getting up close with the woman…

"I plead the fifth," Lorena defiantly spoke.

"Did you or did you not arrange to have Michael Geary Dalton killed?" Sophie asked this time, trying to be the good one.

"Have you ever changed your name?" Tara automatically fired after her friend's question.

"No."

"Then who are Lorita Stone, Lorita Dalton, Lorena Kassidy, huh?" Tara went on…

"No one I know," once again Lorena was defying the blond grifter.

Sophie tapped the blond on the shoulder and they went out of earshot, but both kept eyes on Eliot's step-mother. They had been sort of working on Lorena for three hours already… She was putting up road blocks. It didn't really matter; they had all the information they needed already to call the police, but Diego hadn't come into the picture yet…

* * *

Parker, Eliot, and Hardison watched the goings on at the real estate office, and got so caught up in it that she almost forgot what time it was. It was already 2:05 in the afternoon and she had a full moon ritual to prepare for by 2:51! The boys both had earphones on and were engrossed in watching the footage of Tara, Sophie, and Lorena in the warehouse. So Parker stood and made to leave.

"Where you headed, mama?" Hardison asked her; Eliot looked up.

"I forgot something in our room. I'll be back."

"Pick up something to eat would you?" And Hardison handed her a $20 bill.

"Be back in a bit." And she was gone…

She ran to the elevator in her dress and then again to the room she shared with Eliot. She grabbed her supply bag out of her backpack and headed out to the small balcony. She wasn't sure if it was the adrenalin rush from running or the full moon's energy coming upon her, but she was feeling damn great once she was outside setting up the things she needed, nerves from her head to her toes were humming with something; especially her hands. Parker was away from Eliot… Then she sashayed her way into the bathroom to prime her body with the sea salt she had from Anisette and Cosette. She quickly washed her flesh with the sea salt and warm water and then dried off before she wrapped herself in a towel. Next, she changed her clothing to her last pair of jeans and t-shirt before he she stopped outside and closed the sliding glass door behind her. Next she calmed down as best she could and ground herself to connect with the earth energy. She pushed away the feelings of nervousness; racing thoughts, possible mania, and any negativity with the breathing exercises she visualized the energy of the earth coming through the floor of the balcony that was a part of the building which was imbedded in the ground, which was earth.

Parker closed her eyes and visualized the energy coming up through the floor of the balcony and moving through each Chakra of her body. She felt it leave through her hands and circle around her. Then she sprinkled more of that coarse sea salt from Anisette and Cosette in a circle around herself and Eliot's last t-shirt she grabbed on the way back to the ritual, a picture of Eliot, the guitar pick, her the rose quartz wishing stone Eliot forgot he was missing, the bracelet made from the same stone from her wrist, the dried lavender little sachet, the small lavender oil and night blooming jasmine vials, and the small red candle went in front of her feet in its holder, her sacred objects. By the time she finished she had a coarse sea salt lasso around the item of Eliot's and herself before she aimed it to the sliding glass door. She began to feel that tingly feeling get stronger. The energy was intensifying… Parker pulled out her small sage, previously, slightly, burned wand to make the space sacred and lit it. Just as quickly she blew it out to let the smoke start… She used it quickly around her body and then traced around the space of the balcony before she doused it in an ashtray on the small table. There, she had her sacred space.

Then out of her supply bag Parker had a small white dustpan and brush combo set. Then she started at the door and swept up the coarse sea salt, brought it all back to the door she started at, and thus completed the cleansing part of her ritual. She lit the tiny red candle in its small holder to start the love energy. The blond thief took one last minute let her hair down; she didn't wash it because of the cold bite to the air. Eliot would kill her if she got sick now… She ran her fingers through and then her blond locks spilled waves all around her shoulders. With one more brush all through of her fingers, she was all set. Guaranteed pretty as a picture…

* * *

At 2:51 that afternoon, the full moon started… Then suddenly she had her pocket size journal in her hands that had the record of her wishes, dreams, and intentions. This time from the new moon, her plans had changed… The ones she had just weren't going to work. So the other day she had changed them. She didn't have time to set them during a new moon, but she hoped that she could charge them with power during the full moon… And the full moon had begun. Her purposes this time had more to do with Eliot's heart and mind, healing, and going to the farm. She wanted charge Eliot's continued healing, to charge Eliot's heart to get stronger in love and to weaken his mind to take down the many walls he had put up around his hidden battered heart. Parker wanted to charge the power of love through their journey to the farm and getting settled there before she had to leave… She wrote her new intentions down on a pad of hotel logoed stationary. Then she ripped off the page and stuffed the pad into her supply bag so that no one else could use it. Next, the thief opened the wishing bag, placed the folded slip of paper inside before she grabbed the rose quartz wishing stone, and her bracelet off the ground. After adding a little of the lavender buds to the wishing bag, she tied it off. A few deep breaths and she put a few drops of lavender and jasmine oil on the candle. Then she picked up the small bag and held it between her hands to renew and charge the rose quart, and the new intentions with power.

'I dedicate this rose quartz to love. I dedicate strength and healing to Eliot Spencer's heart. I dedicate power to the destruction of the walls his mind has put around his heart. I dedicate the continued healing of his body, and courage for both of us to get through our journey to my farm; and settlement when we are there. I am attracting a loving relationship into my life. I am attracting love, good food, and family into my home at the farm. They will grow and prosper here. All my needs, both physical and emotional, and mental, will be met. All of Eliot's needs both physical and emotional, and mental, will be met. And so it is!' Parker invoked in thought.

Then at last, she mentally gave thanks to the universe, in advance, for everything about to come in her and Eliot's pathways. After finishing her ritual, Parker packed everything back up except for the small white bag with the rose quartz, intentions, and lavender. She hid her journal back into her pack and blew out the little stub of red candle left in her small holder. While she waited for the candle wax to cool, she opened her small wishing bag and pulled out her bracelet… It was brilliantly deep rose pink… Not an ounce of white anywhere upon the stone beads! The blond thief was so excited to see so much of the rose color. It meant that there was a lot of love in the bracelet and when she saw the wishing stone; that had the same deep rose pink… She put the bracelet on and immediately Parker felt the love seeping into her body. Then she took the wishing stone and put it under Eliot's pillow; she noticed that when he slept on either side he slept with one hand under the pillow and figured he slept that way was because he had a gun under his pillow at his former apartment.

* * *

Then she put away the cooled candle stub and the holder in her pack before she put it on her back and headed out for food. She had an idea of what she wanted to do for keeping her new intention to move forward in her quest to win Eliot's heart, but she couldn't do anything more at the hotel… So she decided to save it once they got to the farm and he traded in his casts for braces. This time she went for a walk and hid her pack inside the back of a big chain grocery store. It was behind some pallets and easily accessible on her way back. She went around to the front of the store, took a shopping cart, and a basket. She put the basket up by where children sat and then she was off shopping… Parker Style. True she had the twenty in her pocket from Hardison, but she was hungry and the boys wouldn't eat cereal… She went up and down the aisles picking things that could be microwaved or put in the fridge if they didn't eat it all in one meal. Then she pushed the cart through the door that said, 'Employees Only,' when no one was looking. Fortunately for Parker, no one was in the back either. She ran, quickly retrieved her backpack, and into a worker female restroom where she changed into some of her dirty clothing but only because she had no other choice. Then she stuffed the food and clean clothes into her backpack. Then she went through the back door that employees came in to check in their time cards and to her pack. Calm as a bug in a rug she walked down to the end of the alley and up the street without anyone being the wiser. Parker had been fortunate because the person watching the security cameras had left to go get some lunch in the deli of the store…

The nimble thief went back to her and Eliot's room to change her clothing again back to the clean stuff before she headed back to Hardison's room. Once there she headed for the microwave with her backpack. She popped open a box of those pizza rolls and put them on a paper towel that was on a Dixie paper plate all of which was stolen… The hacker was still watching the footage and feeding the ladies information through their long range ear buds. The injured hitter was sound asleep on the Hide-A-Bed couch. When the food was ready she flipped the paper towel over and the pizza bites were on the paper plate. She set it down next to Alec and went about making chicken strips and microwaveable fries in a box for Eliot. While that was cooking, she dove into her box of Golden Grahams. Oooh, honey flavor… She missed that. Then she took the plate of food for Eliot and put it on the coffee table with a bottle of ketchup.


	83. Chapter 83

**A/N - Welcome to Hump Day! Otherwise known as WALL SAFE WEDNESDAY!**

**Here is the update I'm sure you've been waiting for!**

**A/N - **

**I hope you all ENJOY it and get ready for Eliot and Parker going home on FRIDAY!**

**Please REVIEW!**

* * *

After six hours of interrogating Lorena and not getting anywhere, and no lunch, the tall grifter had enough… It was all for show anyway at least until they got Diego from Quinn. Tara made the woman stand and Sophie took the folding chair to a steel pole imbedded in the bare concrete floor in the middle of the structure. Then the blond grifter undid one of the handcuffs and joined it with her set to make a larger loop; then put it around the pole before she closed the other cuff. Lorena was handcuffed to a steel pole that wasn't going to go anywhere. Then Sophie put the chair next to the pole and made Eliot's step-mother sit down.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"We are tired… And we have a life… And friends that need us. Now you have a good night…" Tara said as she looked over her shoulder as her and Sophie started to walk out of the warehouse.

"You can't leave me here like this… This is mean and cruel, and, and I can make you pay…" Lorena was grasping at straws and the two grifters knew it.

"If she wanted to be mean, darling, she would have cuffed your wrists together tighter so you couldn't pull your knickers down to pee," Sophie yelled back.

Then the two ladies evilly laughed as they left the building… It was a little bit of brilliance on Sophie's part to add that last line. The plan was to leave Lorena all alone in the warehouse in the cold of the Oklahoma City night… True, the woman wore a jacket, jeans, and walking shoes, but if the temperature dropped she could get sick or better yet, catch hypothermia. They hadn't fed her and they sure as hell weren't going to let her go use a toilet. At most, she would be tired, hungry, soiled, achy, and ready to talk in the morning, if the rats or field mice didn't get her first… Lorena deserved it all and more, but the team decided not to actually let Eliot kill her with his bare hands. There was still plenty of time to go for some retail therapy before the end of the day, so that's where Sophie and Tara headed… And got them a fantastic meal at a barbecue place two blocks from the hotel, to boot.

* * *

Lorena knew she was in trouble when the light of the day began to dim. She couldn't scream and holler because she was out in the middle of nowhere. But somewhere deep inside her, she kept hope that Enrique would come find her when she didn't show up for their flight to Los Angeles… Yes, someone would come find her…

* * *

In the morning, Tara woke up to find a dark red rose on the pillow next to her, with a note tied to it with a ribbon. The note had her name on it, so she sat up and opened it right away.

"Good morning, beautiful… You'll find me having breakfast with the others downstairs at Ciao Aroma, and briefing to follow. Q," she silently read with her eyes.

She rolled over and got out of bed, sans robe with the rose in her hand, smelling the intoxicatingly beautiful scent as she headed toward the bathroom in the nude. She placed the rose on the bathroom counter and entered the shower. Shortly after, she went down to the restaurant. She spotted Hardison near the back and headed toward the rest of the team.

"Good morning all," she said as she arrived at the table.

Her greetings were returned and Quinn had already stood to hold her chair for her. As she sat, he pushed it in for her, and then took to his chair.

"Nate called and gave me the play by play of Beretta seeing some kind of large Australian spider hanging in the trees outside of her window," Sophie chuckled and bashfully smiled. "She made the whole family and Nate move to the opposite side of the inn. And once Nate saw it for himself, he agreed. He doesn't like spiders or snakes… A bit like Harrison Ford in that Indiana Jones movie he was. They've been touring the city as much as they can because they don't know when they'll ever get to come back. Nate has tried to blend in as a tourist… But he's providing security for the family. Good thing he's been to London or they'd have to take taxies everywhere, because of the driving situation. He promised us pictures."

* * *

Eliot was kind of lost in his own little world that morning… Parker didn't share his bed, although he hadn't asked her to stay… He guessed that he was hoping that she'd come and stay the night with him. But when he put his hand under his pillow last night he found the stone he thought he'd lost… It was funny though, the guy from the front desk said that he would deliver it… But the hitter assumed that the man would have knocked on the door and handed it to him… Why was it under his pillow? And last he had seen it; it hadn't been as pink as it now was. Maybe it was that way and he had simply just forgotten… After all, he'd been busy with his father's funeral plus helping to get Beretta and her family to safety. So Eliot slept alone with the small stone in the palm of his hand with his fingers enclosed around it like a fist. He tried to snap out of the daze his mind seemed to be in when Tara arrived. He greeted her with a, 'Morning,' and then went back to brooding in that little world… His mind kept telling him not to get involved with Parker, that there was something wrong with her. Who knew, maybe there was something wrong with him for thinking so much about Parker and what she was up to with her secretive plans for her jobs or whether or not she was going to share his bed… He sighed as he tried to rejoin reality and his friends around the tables.

* * *

Parker tried not to look obvious, as she watched Eliot… He seemed fine, but she noticed his nostrils were flared just a bit. He must have been upset about something… She thought he would have asked her to stay with him, but then he didn't so she let it go. But later on she heard Eliot sniffling in the bedroom. It killed her not to go in and stay with him, but if she had and he tossed her out, that would have hurt more. So she gave him his space and she focused on love by rubbing the bracelet on her wrist. Fortunately, Sophie and Tara brought by the things they bought for the hitter and the thief to wear just before Parker was about to go to bed. They apologized for the late hour and giggled a little bit as they hung on each other for support. Parker took the bags and gently closed the door so they wouldn't wake Eliot. Then after she secured the door, she slipped between the sheets and went to sleep. In the morning, she was up before Eliot to dive into the shopping bags. Sophie bought Parker a lovely pink blouse with diagonal ruffles down each shoulder and crossed in the middle, down to the waist. In the ruffles was a kind of sparkle woven in the color; you could only see the sparkle if light hit it. It went along with the new pair of jeans also in the bag for her. For Eliot, there were the same kind of gym pants with the snaps down the legs to fit over the casts, and a t-shirt that had a tornado on it with the letters for the words Tornado Alley floating around the picture of the tornado. Parker thought it was ironic for Eliot because his life was a tornado at the moment and she was hoping to whisk him away to the farm tomorrow…

Then her cell phone rang… She answered it to find out that Eliot's father was ready for pick up. Parker wondered why they called her and remembered that they put her down as Eliot's emergency contact. She remembered that they were go, go, going and hadn't stopped to remember to charge their cell phones. Parker got up and took Eliot's clothing into the bedroom on her way to get dressed in the bathroom. She left his clothing on the end of the bed and then headed into the bathroom. Once she was ready to go, Eliot was up and dressed on his own, his pants all the way up on his own. Of course, he didn't see her smile behind him. He got ready on his own and she was pleased because he was going to have to get used to it when they got to the farm… She went up and looked at him, she knew his eyes were red rimmed and he was hiding them behind his sunglasses. Parker bent down and hugged him around the shoulders, her head rested on his crown. Then a few heartbeats later, she let him go and she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. Sophie was calling for a breakfast meeting in the restaurant downstairs. So, Parker gently took Eliot downstairs and rolled him up to the table in the very back of the restaurant.

* * *

"What's up next?" Sophie asked the team…

"I deliver Diego into your capable hands," Quinn answered the grifter.

"Yes, and then we have to get him to fess up to working for Lorena…" Tara added.

"We're going home," Parker just randomly spoke.

"No, we're stayin' here. I have unfinished business," Eliot finally acted like he was part of the group.

"No, we're going home. The crematorium called and your father is ready for pick up," Parker narrowed her eyes at him.

No, don't piss Parker off… Because she had plans that Eliot was not going to F.U.B.A.R. (Fuck Up Beyond All Repair) She at least tried to keep her cool and didn't yell at him. She felt bad a little because he was a bit surprised at her revelation.

"Dammit Parker! How did you know that? And why didn't you tell me before breakfast?" The hitter was frustrated.

"Because we put me down as the emergency contact yesterday and I figured they were calling me because they couldn't reach you. Your phone's probably dead… And I wanted you to eat to cheer you up before I told you."

"Then I guess we're goin' home," Eliot spoke with an edge of sarcasm mixed with anger.

* * *

'Fine, she wanted to play games… Then he'd be glad to go home…' He thought; he could get away from the thief and clear his mind…

Eliot thought about going home to his apartment with the wrap around glass windows and the super elite chef's kitchen he had personally built to his standards. He thought about his guitar by the fireplace and his black leather lounge chairs… God, he missed his stereo and his steam shower! He missed getting to pound into his punching bag in his gym he built into the second bedroom at his place. He couldn't wait to start working out when he got home, to get his arms in shape again. Unfortunately, he figured this little trip had added on what… About ten… Maybe fifteen pounds?

* * *

Hardison kept it to himself that Colonel Vance was coming in to take over Diego and interrogate the man further about the drug shipment and the family's behaviors on Thursday. He still didn't like that they had to keep that piece of information away from the hitter's knowledge. After they sent Lorena off to jail, he was heading home as well to prep for Operation Phantom Cobra… Poor boy was going to have to go home commercial but at least the sting wasn't so bad, he'd be flying in first class.

* * *

Enrique wasn't worried when Lorena Spencer didn't show up at the airport to fly to Los Angeles… She was just another link in the chain of women he had connected to his belt. He got on the plane and took his seat. Before they were in the air he managed to call a hook up in Los Angeles and set himself up for a date to party once he landed. Lorena would become just a memory. He had thought about letting her go anyway… Mãe de Deus (Mother of God) The drama with her family was driving him nuts.

* * *

Colonel Michael Vance was in his office reading the report on the Brazilian cartels that he put together and decided to make a call… If what he was reading was right, Parker was headed for trouble… And Eliot would have his neck between his fingers if he didn't make sure that her ass was better protected…

"Westen."

"Mike, this is Mike… I need a favor."

"Long time no hear from… What kind of favor are we talkin'?"

"Eliot Spencer's girl, is walkin' into a mine field in California and I'm gonna need back up."

"Eliot Spencer? Now there's a name I haven't heard in ages… He's got a girl? Are we talkin' about the same Eliot Spencer?"

"Yeah… But it's not official. His girl doesn't want him to know what's goin' on. His dad's passed and he's takin' it pretty hard… Or so I hear… I haven't been to see him yet."


	84. Chapter 84

**A/N - Sorry this is so late in the day... It was 97 today, when 103 was predicted... So I had to wait until it cooled because I have no AC in our car.**

**I hope you all enjoy this!**

**And please REVIEW!**

* * *

After breakfast, Parker took Eliot back to the room… With Hardison, who had one of those huge luggage carts for just one duffel bag and a backpack; it almost looked silly. She left him in the chair as she went around the room and systematically emptied every space, nook, drawer, and counter of all of their things. And she didn't forget Bunny. Fortunately, after stealing the food the other day, she didn't have any food left by the end of that day. Then she abruptly put all the bags on the cart and Hardison took off toward the rented Suburban. The hacker was going to take the couple to pick up his friend's father, going to the funeral home to get the beautiful box they were holding for Eliot, and then he was charged with getting them safely on the way back to Portland, Oregon. Parker worried that Eliot was still a bit miffed at her for not telling him about his father's ashes being ready before she broadcast it to all their friends. After all, it wasn't all her fault something went wrong with his cell phone and they had to call her… Or was it? She'd been trying to do so much for him that maybe she'd forgotten to plug in his cell phone on the charger… Oh well. What was done was done… Two more stops to make and then they would be on the way to the farm… She was glad Hardison offered to take them to the airport, but really, he was the only available one to do so. Sophie and Tara, in the black Denali were supposed to go to Lorena's location and wait for Quinn in the rented Honda Odyssey with Diego Rodriguez.

* * *

It was true, Eliot was upset… But it was the kind of upset that was a web and he was the fly that got caught in it. He got caught in a web of anger, confusion, and grief. He was angry at himself for not making sure his phone was charged, angry at Parker for not making sure he had it plugged in and for not coming to him first with the news about his father… He was confused as to what was or wasn't happening with Parker. He wasn't sure her actions had totally been out of friendship… But then she actually hadn't hauled off and kissed him right on his mouth… Wait… Why the hell was he thinking of Parker kissing him? Then he actually wondered if she was the deadly spider about to suck the life out of him… But was she really? He could brush his teeth, piss and wipe on his own, and he had gotten dressed on his own earlier… But she still had to pick out his outfits. And he was still gonna have to work through the stages of grief on his own when he got home. He had already kind of been through the shock and denial portion. He had reacted to the loss of his father with a bit of numbed disbelief. Eliot had to kind of deny the reality of the loss at some level, to help him avoid the pain he knew would grip his chest. Being in shock provided him emotional protection from being overwhelmed all at once by his family and friends, and namely Parker.

However, he had kind of skipped over the pain and guilt stage and touched a bit into the anger and bargaining stage, because he had been barking at Parker since he'd woken up in the hospital practically… Yet, the yelling at Parker started before finding out about his father being ill. So, instead he tried to focus on how he was finally going home… And once he got there, he could slip back into the pain and guilt stage…

* * *

Hardison drove his friends quietly to the crematorium; kind of his way of showing support for his friend in a small way instead of words he knew were too cliché to be said; that everyone said to someone that had lost someone important from their lives. When they arrived he parked and killed the engine before he got out and went for the wheelchair in the back. By the time he had gotten it all together, Parker had the door open and Eliot was leaning against his seat, his feet in socks, and waiting. They got him in the chair and Parker took over from there. Alec hoped that Eliot wouldn't be too hard on her once he saw the work she had put into moving him to the farm and to his care.

* * *

Parker found the person in charge and they came out to bring Eliot his father in a metal box with a white label on the top. A man in a suit walked up to the hitter in the wheelchair.

"Mister Spencer?"

"Yes."

"Here are your father's ashes and I'll need you to sign this form that I'm legally releasing the ashes to you."

"Sure," Eliot spoke as she watched as he accepted the box and put it in his lap before he accepted the clip board the man had under one armpit.

Then Parker witnessed Eliot sign his name to the form as she stood behind him. Next, the man gave the hitter his condolences, and then they were free to go. She quietly pushed him back out to the Suburban where Hardison had the engine on. She assumed that was because of the chill that had come into the air that late morning. Hardison didn't like to get cold. The thief hurried Eliot a bit, back to the parking lot. Alec got out of the Suburban and moved about, helping to get the hitter back into the vehicle so they could hit the road. Parker nabbed the box of Eliot's father's ashes and before she could hear him bark at her, she had reappeared on the right side passenger side of the SUV.

"Dammit Parker, give me the box," Eliot barked.

The thief didn't listen to him and put the box on the seat next to him, before she grabbed the seat belt, and buckled the box securely into the seat. She patted the box on the top and then closed the door before she went and climbed up into the front passenger seat.

* * *

Eliot felt a slight pain in his chest when the man from the crematorium brought him his father. It was done… The ashes were all that was left of the man he once knew as the man that brought him into the world. And then Parker stole him right out of his hands… Dammit! He wasn't in the mood for games! Then she put the box on the seat and buckled it in. He had to bark at her anyway… He wasn't really up to her being silly as well. Sometimes she could be so simple minded… Eliot felt the seat move and then noticed that the vehicle was moving. They were headed to the mortuary; last stop before they went to the private airport where they sent off Nate and the rest of his step-family. He wondered how Brett was enjoying Australia. He would have gone with them but it would have been a nightmare to travel with his legs out of commission, for him and for the travelers. Soon, they were at the mortuary… Part of him wanted to just get out of the SUV and walk right into the building… But no, they had to go through this delicate dance so that he wouldn't get hurt. Eliot sighed… Once they had the beautiful honey shaped box with the plastic bag full of his father inside and with the base firmly screwed on, and packed inside a cardboard box for shipping it home, he signed his last forms. And again, Parker buckled in his father in the box to the seat. He just didn't understand it… So he decided not to waste the energy in yelling at the crazy thief.

* * *

What he didn't know was that Parker had just been showing his father a little respect. True, she hadn't known the man in person and she only heard some of Eliot's side of his father, but it just seemed right to her that another rider was in the vehicle and everyone was supposed to be buckled up or they'd get pulled over for a traffic ticket. Before long, they were at the hangar and parked next to the team's hired private plane, thanks to Hardison. Hardison and Parker helped the hitter onto the plane and onto one of the couches with seat belts. It was close to one of the chairs, so they turned the chair and put his heavy casted covered legs up on the seat. The thief noticed how his backside just melted into the smooth-as-a-baby's-butt-and-dyed-white real leather. He was already relaxing she hoped… The hacker put their bags into the cargo hold and got on the plane.

"Eliot, man, I want ya to take it easy when yawl get back home. We will be joining yawl when we're done here. Shouldn't be too much longer. Parker, mama, you go easy on him. You know how he gets…"

"Dammit Hardison, I'm right here!"

"I'll call when we get home."

"You mean you'll call when you get home. I can text you when I get home."

Parker tried not to share a look with Hardison and vice versa so that Eliot wouldn't get the hint that something was going on… Because once they got into the rental car at the other end, Eliot wouldn't have a way to stop her from taking him all the way to the farm… Maybe he would be awake when they arrived, maybe he wouldn't… It all depended on how the sedative she planned to give him worked. She knew it was going to work fast because she was going to put it in some milk to relax him.

"Yeah, oops, my bad."

"Well, still, you both should go easy on each other… Because, we all should just get along…" Alec said in his silly over-theatrical way.

"Get off the damn plane Hardison so we can go home," Eliot was frustrated.

"Alright, I'm goin', I'm a gittin'," The hacker headed to the door, "But seriously, have a safe flight and journey home."

"Thanks," came from Parker as Eliot growled.

* * *

Hardison stayed to watch the plane taxi and take off before he went back to the hotel to check Eliot and Parker out of their room and to send housekeeping for clean-up service via his laptop in his room. The hotel's front desk manager wouldn't notice anything because he watched for the moment when the front desk manager went into the back office for something. Then he went about monitoring things with the practically fraternal grifting twins, and the temporary replacement hitter and their marks.

* * *

About fifteen minutes into the flight, Eliot looked like he was in some pain as he sat there reading a book on his electronic book reader. Parker, who'd been reading on her device across from him, had been stuck with the third page of what she was reading, stood and headed toward where the food was kept behind a curtain. The time had come for Eliot to take a little nap… She made him an organic peanut butter and organic strawberry preserves sandwich and made up the sleepy time milk to go along with it. The owner of the plane was a huge health nut, so the refrigerator was filled with healthy food. Parker was at least pleased that there was organic cereal with honey on it so there was still the possibility to get her a sugar high if she needed one to calm down. She carried the snack to the little table next to Eliot and set it there.

"Just in case you get hungry," she simply said.

"Parker, we just ate two hours ago," he seemed wary of the food and she really didn't blame him considering what she'd done to him in the past.

"I know, I just thought if you got busy reading or something and you got hungry… Now I won't have to get up."

"Fine," he said and Parker stood.

She moved back to her seat and picked a different book to read, 'The Complete Beginning Gardener's Bible…' The thief was going to need to know that kind of stuff out there on the farm. Or would she be a farmer and not a gardener? She could wheel Eliot outside to help guide her if he was still talking to her by then. About a half hour later, Parker looked up, the small glass of milk was empty, and the sandwich was gone. Eliot was still upright but she caught him yawning as the tryptophan started to go to work with the sedative. The thief put down her electronic reading device and crossed the room as Eliot put his head down on a bolster pillow from the other side of the couch. She brought him a throw blanket from another empty chair and covered him up. Then she lifted him up just enough to get rid of the pillow and sit down herself where the pillow should have been. Parker gently set his head back down on her right thigh.

"What the hell are you doing, Parker?"

"Helping you relax…" she said as she began to stroke her fingers through the hairline at the front of his crown toward the middle.

"You gave me something, didn't you?"

"I might have… I might not… I don't remember," and again she moved to a different spot and stroked her fingers into his crown again.

* * *

"Dammit Parker," was all Eliot was able to bark at her before the blackness overtook his vision…


	85. Chapter 85

**A/N - Welcome to SATURDAY! **

**Heat wave is gonna be bad to day, so I thought you might need this chapter to get you through to **

**Monday's update where our almost love birds finally make it to the farm...**

**I hope you like this chapter and don't come after me with your pitchforks on Monday demanding your update! LOL!**

**Enjoy! And PLEASE REVIEW!**

* * *

Sophie pulled up to the side of the building where they last parked the day before when they left Lorena Spencer on her own. Tara undid her belt and let it recoil back to the door.

"I hope we're not going to find her soiled too much because that would stink… I am not going to go buy her clothes to change into," the blond grifter spoke.

"Yes, that would be nasty. Quinn should be here in less than a half hour, darling. What say we cats go play with our mouse?"

"Rrrear meow," Tara teased.

* * *

They found Lorena sitting on the chair in the middle of the warehouse. Her hair was a bit messed and her head was bowed. They figured she was still sleeping. Sometimes sleeping helped to get a person through starvation until the next meal. Sophie kind of relented and got a small box of donuts, because she figured that Lorena and Diego would be hungry and ready to talk for a price… Well, the grifters were going to dangle the proverbial carrot in front of them… Except in reality it was going to be a box of donuts instead.

"Wakey, wakey," Sophie teased Lorena as she tickled her ear.

Lorena gasped as she woke up startled.

"Gross, the floor's wet," Tara said as sunlight from an overhead sky light hit the puddle on the floor, and fortunately she hadn't stepped too far into it, but she came no further. "I should make her lick my boots…"

Their prisoner smirked… Which set Sophie off, she was going to be the bad cop for a while because she really missed Nate and all the fun he was having without her. And then she wondered if he was looking at other women at the beach in small bathing suits… That made a little green monster grow in her head; its name was Jealousy. Tara unlocked the cuffs, practically dragged the woman back to the table, cuffed her to her chair after Sophie brought it with, and pocketed the extra set of cuffs in her jeans. Then she opened up the box of donuts and set it just out of Lorena's reach. The two grifters watched her eyes go wide and her mouth almost started drooling.

"You can have one of these, when you tell us who Diego Rodriguez is and what he did for you. I might even give you two if you give us good information…" Tara began.

"I plead the fifth amendment."

"Awww, will you look at that darling, she's not hungry enough yet," Sophie voiced before she slammed the box closed and moved it away from the evil woman.

* * *

"I hope we're not too late to the party," Quinn commented as he dragged a bound Diego Rodriguez into the building.

"Not at all, there's an extra set of chairs in the back of the Denali," Tara tossed him the keys as she forcefully man handled Diego over to where Lorena was seated.

"Well now… Diego, are you hungry?" Sophie asked as she opened the donut box.

He nodded, because he hadn't eaten longer than Lorena, "What do you want," he spoke with an accent.

"Information on Lorena here is all we want," Tara informed the man.

"And you'll give me food?"

"Yes, especially if the information is good… Hell, I'll have my associate buy you dinner…" Tara was trying to entice the man…

She had only been thinking about a box dinner from KFC, no fancy steak or anything… Diego seemed to think it over…

"First you talk darling, then you eat…" Sophie brought up the rear.

* * *

Quinn brought the extra chairs in and made Diego sit before he turned his chair backwards at the side of the rectangular table. He was interested in what the man was going to share. He watched as the Brazilian man turned to look at Lorena, he smirked and then began to spill every little detail he knew about the murder of Franklin Spencer. How he was paid to keep quiet and the things he did to sell it to the families that the deceased patients had Do Not Resuscitate orders in their files… Yes, Diego Rodriguez had killed more than just Franklin Spencer. He was even giving out names!

'Damn, the man wants to eat…' Quinn thought as he remembered from the morning meeting that Alec Hardison was digitally recording every word that was said… The man was sealing his own fate…

* * *

"You BASTARD," Lorena yelled at the Brazilian when she couldn't take it anymore.

She had thought late into the night that she should have made sure she had her purse so that she could have called Diego and warned him that people were coming after him. But now that she sat there listening to the man spill every little detail of her plans and his part in them, she realized that he deserved that cut on his jaw. She would have dismantled him with her bare hands if she wasn't cuffed up… Well fine, two could play at that game… He was engorging himself on a donut when she decided to share some facts on the man's extended family… And she was pissed that Enrique Villareagos didn't come after her; hell hath no fury like a woman scorned!

"There's a shipment of cocaine coming next month… I overheard Enrique Villareagos' family talking about it one afternoon. What you probably don't know is what's coming in the other shipping crate…"

"Yeah, so?" Tara spoke.

"Cash… It's blood money they stole from the second biggest cartel in Brazil.

* * *

Since Eliot was asleep and she could text one handed, she kept gently stroking her fingers through Eliot's hair. It had been a while since Beretta had texted her and she was bored, so she pulled her cell phone out of her left pocket. She had no clue that it was after four in the morning where Beretta was, but she didn't really care because the woman wanted to know how her step-brother was.

[SpiderMonkey: I can talk now. Eliot sleepin' like a baby… P.] She texted to Beretta Winchester in Australia.

[MrsWBMama: With or without help? :) B.] Parker could just imagine her smile.

[SpiderMonkey: With… In milk. Eliot doesn't really like 2 fly… And he looked like he was in a bit of pain. We're on our way back 2 Oregon. P.]

[MrsWBMama: He'll B glad 2 B home. B.]

[SpiderMonkey: I forgot, did I tell U about my farm? P.]

[MrsWBMama: So much has happened since I last really talked 2 U at the hospital, I've forgotten 2. B.]

[SpiderMonkey: Eliot's not going home, he don't know it yet. I moved him out 2 my farm. I can't leave him out of my sight yet. He's still in those casts and I don't want him 2 slip away from the team 2 hide like a dying animal. P.]

[MrsWBMama: Point. He would do that if given the chance since he's on the mend. B.]

[MrsWBMama: Tell me about Ur place? I bet it's lovely. B.]

[SpiderMonkey: I think U'd like it. It's got 2 barns and a farm house. Several acres for growing stuff, and I might get some horses once Eliot gets there. P.] Parker didn't tell her about her fear of horses; she had to keep some secrets for herself and her team.

[MrsWBMama: Sounds heavenly. B.]

[SpiderMonkey: And there's forest around it. And I can't remember if I put in a play area for kids or not yet. If I forgot, I will for Logan and Lily Belle 2 play in. P.]

[MrsWBMama: That would B wonderful of U. B.]

[MrsWBMama: How's Eliot? How was it with the crematorium? B.]

[SpiderMonkey: Speaking of that. Can I make a suggestion? P.]

[MrsWBMama: Sure! B.]

[SpiderMonkey: Let's move U and Ur family there 4 Thanksgiving. I'll have a bunk house built by the time the holiday is here. U all can stay there. Eliot would probably prefer that verses more travel with me. I have a huge T.V. 4 the men 2 watch sports. We could help U cook or watch the little ones 4 U. What do U think? P.]

[MrsWBMama: That sounds fantastic. We can show everyone all our pictures and bore the hell out of everyone! Though, I'm not sure Colt will have a job when we get back 2 California, so not sure about travel money. B.]

[SpiderMonkey: Don't Worry, B Happy! P.]

[MrsWBMama: That's right, no worries. See, I've picked up some Australian. I can even say G' Day. B.]

[SpiderMonkey: As 4 the, 'Grouchy One,' He didn't do so well at the crematorium. I can't share what happened until we can talk in person. They had the ashes ready and we picked everything up. He's inside the, 'Honey Pot,' Box now. P.]

[MrsWBMama: I'm so sorry I couldn't B there. How did U hold up with him? B.]

[SpiderMonkey: Keeping U all alive was more important I think. U can love on him when U all get here 4 the holiday. I was fine. P.] Parker didn't want to get into details.

[MrsWBMama: It's a deal! B.]

[SpiderMonkey: Sorry if it's late there. P.]

[MrsWBMama: No worries. Anyway, I was up. Logan has a little ear ache. He's curled up in between Colt and I, and right next to his sister. B.]

[SpiderMonkey: Dare U 2 kiss a Kangaroo… P.] Parker was being silly.

[MrsWBMama: Beat-cha 2 it and Koala's smell like urine… B.]

[SpiderMonkey: LOL, but I'm quiet so I don't wake Eliot. P.]

[MrsWBMama: Ooph. I have 2 go. Lily Belle is hungry and I have 2 go make a bottle. Text me when U get settled. B.]

[SpiderMonkey: Will do when I have a free moment. P.]


	86. Chapter 86

**A/N - I know you guys have been worried about what happened to the 3 updates a week. **

**I tragically accidentally destroyed my phone by getting distracted and leaving it on top of the car last Saturday.**

**So, now I have no internet access at home and I don't have my websites I use for research.**

**Updates will now only come on FABULOUS FUNDS FRIDAYS so that I can use Monday and Wednesday for research on the net here at dialysis.**

**I will have to save up about $300 to get the phone I need for my eyes, so... The slowness might be a while.**

**A/N - Now, back to the good stuff! **

**I hope you all have fun with this chapter and I will see you either tomorrow with another update or next Friday!**

**Enjoy and Please REVIEW!**

* * *

As soon as they landed, Parker gently eased out from under Eliot and packed up their electronic devices. Eliot was still asleep… He was still breathing so Parker wasn't too worried that she had given him too much sedative. Then the pilot, first mate came and carried the hitter off of the plane, and to the passenger seat in the front of the double cab, dark forest green, Dodge Ram truck. It had a sparkly metal mixed into the dark forest green because she thought it all reminded her of money… Especially when light hit it, it looked like her two favorite things, money and shiny things. Her eyes went huge when she saw it on the lot the day she took off from baby-sitting Eliot and went back later anyway. Just like the moment when she opened the envelope of money Nate handed her for Christmas one year; her eyes went that huge and she plastered herself on it like she did when her, Eliot, and Hardison opened that shipping container full of money. A salesman came up ready to sell it to her but stopped when he heard what she lowly spoke…

"My precious… Mine… Precious… Mine," he slowly backed away and considered calling the police on her.

Fortunately, he let her have her moment when he spotted another customer and walked off. Then later, when he went to check on her, she was gone. The truck was still on the lot. Parker then texted Hardison and had him take care of the purchase from her Alice White account. True, she once told Eliot and Sophie that she didn't like things, she liked money. But she was going to be out where she was going to need to have a truck in case of an emergency… She couldn't just put Eliot on a horse and walk him to civilization to get help; and she wasn't about to ride one… No way! After the two men put Eliot in the truck and buckled him in, they took care of the bags and the wheelchair, so that Parker could get into the driver's seat. They put the tail gate up and she started up the engine. Eliot's father was on the seat behind her and buckled in as before. Soon, she was on the road to the farm… She hadn't picked a name for the property yet. She considered Sleepy Hollow but that was too scary. Parker hoped that Eliot might help her pick out a name, if he would ever talk to her again after she left to start Operation Phantom Cobra… The truck pulled up the long unpaved driveway and the sight that greeted the thief was a fall harvest explosion… There were baskets of fake apples and winter squash placed here and there, some by the barn and more by the barn she would test her harnesses in; her general office. Then there were leaves of gold, reds, and orange everywhere. Some were gathered into piles and others littered the ground. It was a little out of place considering the trees that grew those kinds of leaves weren't on the property…

But then it was perfectly how she imagined it would look from what she saw in her range of vision… There was Halloween which led to Thanksgiving and after that was her favorite holiday… Christmas! Parker could only dream of what her place would look like if she got a white Christmas this year. However, she did get to see pumpkins in clusters of two or three on the front steps, some carved with silly faces, others not, and more fall leaves in shades of red, orange, and gold around them. A simple scarecrow stood in the landscaping by the path that led between the two barns. Garlands of fall leaves hung over the door, ribbons of crepe paper in black, and orange were wrapped around the posts of the porch. Up on the second floor by Parker's master bedroom window there was a decoration that looked like a witch on her broom crashed into the wall. Fake cotton spider webbing hung in the windows on the outside. She didn't have the time to look at every little detail of how the decorations were set up but it was just perfect… On the roof of the barn she was using as her office there was another decoration that looked like Dracula crashed into the roof, because there was a head, a set of bat wings secured to the roof, and legs hanging off. There was a fake mummy sitting on the porch swing, with his legs crossed, one arm across his right thigh and the other on the armrest. She didn't have time to notice that it had sunglasses on.

The thief pulled to a stop and killed the engine. Parker managed to get Eliot into the chair in one piece; she could tell that he was trying to fight whatever she'd slipped him. She left the bags in the back of the truck under the cap over the back. As she wheeled him over to the ramp to the side of the front steps she could tell he was trying to fight the sedative.

"Where the hell am I…? Parker? This isn't my apartment in the city."

"Nope, it isn't."

Parker pushed Eliot up the ramp and stopped at the front door. She pulled her keys out of her left pocket and started to open the door when the hitter suddenly opened his eyes and tried to keep them open as he fought to stay awake. She could tell he wanted to say something, but it just wasn't coming out as his eyes closed again… A few more hours of sleep and she knew he'd be awake; then she could give him the grandest tour ever of the ground floor of the farmhouse and the barns.

* * *

When Eliot woke up, he was moving… At an incline which wasn't ordinary and saw that he was moving toward a mummy with sunglasses on the far end of someone's porch. He tried to find out where he was… And Parker was being vague and impossible by confirming that he was still in a nightmare reality. No, no, no! Dammit! He was supposed to be going to his place! But then sleep overtook him again… Later, when he woke up again, he hoped for the last time that woozily; he was in the dark, but the moon shone through the blinds on the window; it was a day past being a full moon so it still had much light to give to the night sky. That was the first conscious sign that he figuratively, wasn't in Kansas anymore. He looked to the right and there was a lamp that looked like an old fashioned kerosene lamp but this one was modified to be plugged into the wall. Eliot turned the knob once and the light on top turned on. If he had turned it once more then the top would have turned off and the bottom globe of the lamp would have turned on, and turning it thrice turned on the top and the bottom. With just the top part on, he could finally see the piercing eyes of the wolf in the framed poster on the wall at the foot of the bed. He sat up and wondered where the hell he was… He definitely wasn't in his apartment and then he remembered that Parker said that she couldn't recall if she had slipped him something or not, but he still felt a bit sluggish so she must have given him something in his milk. Tryptophan didn't usually make him that sleepy…

He turned the knob on the lamp again and the room got a little brighter. It seemed calming enough with the color on the walls… He assumed it must have been some kind of warm ivory or melted vanilla ice cream color. Eliot seemed pleased that the bed showed the natural wood and that it had been heavenly to sleep in it. It didn't take him long to recall that it felt like he'd been sleeping on flannel clouds. He noticed the rack of quilts in one corner and then his eyes picked up on something familiar… That was his guitar, there, in that corner of the room. How the hell did it get there? And his reading chair and the lamp was his as well… Something wasn't right. Then he looked at the dresser… His mother's small music box that he had on display on the dresser he had at his apartment was now in the room and on that same dresser… And right next to that was the wooden urn that contained his father! His cologne bottle and hair brush were in exactly the same spots where he usually had them. Eliot began to feel like he'd woken up in a Twilight Zone episode. The hitter figured that if he stood he'd see his two favorite guitar picks there as well… With some work, he managed to get into his wheelchair and was glad that the doorways were large enough to get through without scraping the chair on the frame. He rolled himself into the bathroom and took care of his personal business before he got a look at the bathroom counter and all the items he needed to make Eliot Spencer into the Eliot Spencer, professional hitter and retrieval specialist look good was there. Someone had been to his apartment…

His instincts told him that it had been Parker… But he didn't know that most of the rest of the team helped out when they could. Someone had kept him distracted so he wouldn't remember… Then he recalled that must have been true because he couldn't think of a moment when he was ever alone in the hospital room, all by himself… Well, he couldn't account for the times when he was asleep… But that wasn't the point. Someone had been through his things… He didn't know which made him angrier, that his apartment had been broken into or that he had been moved out to the country… Of which he still didn't know where the hell he was! The clock on the wall in the bathroom told him it was late, almost midnight in a couple hours. His stomach growled and he realized he'd missed getting his third meal of the day… And where was Parker…? Was something going on with her? He suddenly began to notice that she wasn't keeping watch over him as much as she had in the past…

* * *

The thief was in the living room reading that gardening book on her electronic reading device. She was learning all about compost; it was black gold to a gardener. It had been a long and exhausting day her, and she really hadn't had a chance for a nap all day. Being so busy meant that she wouldn't have been able to rest even if she'd found a moment to herself. Until Eliot was able to be on his feet all by himself, she decided that she had to stick close by the hitter. She had managed to get Eliot in bed without a fight and kind of tucked him in for him to finish sleeping of whatever he had left in his system. She spent the quiet time moving in their luggage and she snuck into the room while Eliot was asleep and put his father's honey colored urn on the dresser. Fortunately, the team she hired to decorate filled the refrigerator with the food she needed to feed the both of them… Tonight, Parker was going to use her kitchen for the first time and she felt a live wire of happiness shoot up her spine… And with a little help of the toaster oven, a can opener, and a small, one cup-sized colander, she made herself a pepperoni and pineapple pizza. While she had been waiting for her creation in the toaster oven, she quietly snuck up to her room and retrieved the pills that allowed her to eat dairy. After they were taken and the food finished, she plated it, and grabbed a water bottle before she headed to where she was seated before on the couch. Then she built a fire, just enough to keep her warm, and sat down to read and eat. When she took a bite of the cooling food, she felt the joy food-gasm in her mouth. And she enjoyed a quiet night alone with her reading and a nice fire to keep warm with while she waited for Eliot to wake up. A random thought entered her mind as she took another bite of food…

'Was this how normal people spent fall evenings?' If so, it didn't seem so bad to her.

She hoped that she would get another white Christmas, because she knew it would look so pretty outside. The windows in the living room had beautiful panoramic views and she could just imagine the blanket of powder over the ground. Out of the blue, she heard a toilet flush… Mr. Grouchy Sleepyhead was awake. Then she heard grunting as she assumed that he was coming to find her. Parker decided to get up and meet him halfway.

* * *

"Hungry," was all she said and he gave up the fight…

Eliot was abruptly curious as he pushed all other thoughts from his mind, like the fact that he was mad at her for a few things… It would have to be settled later. He watched her move behind him and she pushed him to the dining room table, where a chair at the head was already missing, but it was sitting in the corner with others along a wall for more guests.

"Yeah, you?"

"Nope, already ate. Lemme make you something… Just give me a few minutes," the thief said as she parked him at the table.

And then she walked away, but from where he was, he could see her in the kitchen going back and forth from the refrigerator. Then a trip to the freezer, and he wondered what she had in mind that required frozen anything. If it was a heated T.V. dinner, he could live with that. If she was cooking… Wait… Since when could Parker cook? It was awfully quiet in there and he didn't hear distinctive chopping or anything really with a knife. He heard a little scraping of some kind and hoped that she hadn't burned something… No, she wasn't cussing and there was no burned scent in the air. Suddenly, something smelled good in the air and unexpectedly, he smelled garlic and margarine… She was cooking… Eliot wondered what she had up her sleeve… He assumed she didn't really know how to cook but if she did, he assumed she'd just be making simple scrambled eggs and toast… But then his nose got a taste of the air, and the garlic threw him off. Then he heard a little more noise and something that sounded like Parker humming something that had no rhyme or reason; she made it up as she went along. If he cared as much, it almost sounded cute. Then he heard a door slam closed and then the refrigerator door opened and closed…

"Hey, what would you like to drink? The fridge is stocked."

"Water's fine. Where are we? This one of Hardison's finds?"

"That will come later. Tonight, you're gonna rest and eat."

Dammit, she was purposefully changing the subject; which meant he wasn't going to like it when she told him the answers to his questions. He sighed, maybe she was right. He was going to need more sleep to be on all four cylinders the next day when he found out the details of what the hell was going on; because he knew he wasn't going to like the answers. Then swiftly Parker came into the room with a plate and a water bottle. The sight that greeted him actually looked good when she put the plate on the table; and he didn't know why, but it surprised him in a way. There was a pita loaf with what looked like a crispy edge; there was a kind of tomato sauce, and mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, and pineapple tidbits. Eliot didn't know that that style of her pizza, sometimes reminded her of his personality… He could be a bit tangy and sharp like the tomato sauce; he could melt like the mozzarella cheese when he was being vulnerable. He could be spicy like the pepperoni and sweet like the pineapple fruit… When he wanted to be… Parker had been trying to be cute by arranging the meat to look like a happy face with eyes and a mouth in a smile; the nose and eyebrows from pineapple… Eliot only hoped it tasted just as good as it looked.


	87. Chapter 87

**A/N - Welcome to FABULOUS FUNDS FRIDAY!**

**Here's a little interlude chapter until I get 88 finished.**

**Dang it SUCKS not having a phone! Happy Weekend!**

**I hope you ENJOY and don't forget to REVIEW!**

* * *

Nate was at a white plastic table under a canopy drinking coffee and picking at a cheese Danish absent-mindedly listening to the adults in his charge. They were out having breakfast out on the patio far from those giant spiders hanging in the trees and planning new places in the city to explore, when Beretta stood like she had something to say. Apparently, instead of going home for Thanksgiving, they were going to a farm in Oregon. In reading her face, he could tell she didn't want to explain Parker to her family. She looked to Nate and nodded as if to confirm that it was true. The mastermind could only smirk until he found out what the hell was going on back in the states. It must have been a recent proposition put to the mother of two. Though, like Parker, he worried that Eliot wouldn't be able to deal with whatever Parker had in mind for her Operation Phantom Cobra. His mind was still trying to work out what that name meant… Phantom, ghost, apparition, spirit, specter, phantasm, wraith, shade… Spook. What other things were spooks? CIA agents… What could Parker possibly have to do with a CIA agent? He didn't know that the thief knew any spooks as it was, but she'd had a varied life working for Archie Leach and God only knew who she worked with or against in obtaining her objective. And Cobras bit things and spread their venom… Wound, puncture, prick, hurt, poison… Killer. Strike, assault, attack, foray, raid, and hit. He considered getting in touch with Archie again. He'd have to get Hardison to track him down to make sure the man was still only south of where they were, and still in New Zealand.

However, his mind drifted again and he remembered that he was pretty sure he had other plans with Sophie for the Thanksgiving holiday. He had kind of hoped to go to Parker's farm for Christmas. There was a beautiful ring he had sitting in a hidden safe in his apartment and none of the team knew about it. Pretty soon and it would have its rightful home on Sophie's hand… If she accepted him as her Christmas present. He seriously thought about whisking Sophie away to Las Vegas, getting hitched at one of those drive up wedding chapels before he got cold feet, and wanted to back out or Sophie planned a huge wedding, and then he wanted to back out. He didn't need an audience when he got married… The team and Parker's craziness didn't really need to be there… They could always through a big reception for their friends and the like later on… Well, what friends they had left that they could invite… He could see Sophie wearing a simple white suit to be married in; he didn't really see Sophie the kind to go all out for a wedding dress. And he'd be there in his best black tuxedo. He reminded himself to get Maggie's thoughts on the marriage and possible blessing. He didn't know why he needed it; he was a grown man… But somewhere deep inside him he believed he needed it, so he would seek it to receive it.

* * *

"Sorry to hear that about Eliot, man. Anyway, what kind of back up are we talkin'?"

"You still involved with that firecracker and the lush?"

"Who? Fi and Sam? Yeah, I've got my team down here in Florida. Why?"

"Well, El Serpiente out of Brazil has taken a big bite out of the Delgadillos' funds, and you can bet they aren't happy…"

"So, you're expecting a war…" It wasn't a question of whether it was going to happen or not, the former CIA agent knew it was, and they could be bloody if both parties brought enough firepower to the table.

"Yeah and I don't have all the details on how it's all gonna go down, but I have to make sure Eliot's girl makes it out in one piece."

"When will you know?"

"I would assume I will know on my way out to California. I have to be in San Francisco on the 8th and the location will be sent to me."

"What is this woman's name that's unofficially Eliot's girl?" Michael was already planning to look into the woman's history to figure out what was going on. Until he heard her name…

"It's Parker."

"Parker? You're kidding right?"

"No. Very serious."

"How did he hook her man? I gotta know the story…"

"You know just about as much as I do… I do know they worked together on a job for me and that they're on a team together run by a former insurance claims investigator. She mentioned he had an accident and then his father died."

"Yeah, if you talk to him soon, pass on my condolences. So, should I just wait for your call?"

"Get your team on the Delgadillos; they're in Brazil as well. I need the full work up, including current and former members plus locations. Apparently there's a shipment of cocaine due to arrive middle of next month. I'll text when it's shortly ahead of time so you can arrive with time to spare."

"Sounds big. She might call us in on her own to join the party, but if she doesn't, I'll wait for your text."

Michael Westen couldn't believe first of all, that Eliot Spencer had finally found a girl after the whole thing with Aimee went south. He'd taken Eliot down to Margaritaville for a week to help him get over his sorrows, but that had been several years before he'd gotten burned right out of the CIA. The two men had lost touch after Eliot got out of the service. From time to time they'd run into each other on opposite sides on a job, but the retrieval specialist gave him a break and found a way to deal with the consequences if the employers found out. When Eliot needed help on a job, he knew the man to call… The former spy wondered what kind of accident his old friend was in and how severe the injuries were if Parker wanted to keep her current job a secret from his buddy. And… Parker! Fi was going to be excited that the master thief might have a job she could get to blow something up or provide firepower for… But Michael wasn't sure he should tell his girl yet. He didn't need Fi calling Parker before it was time because Parker wasn't supposed to know Vance contacted him, at least not yet… Of course he couldn't tell Sam yet, because a few drinks and the man couldn't keep a secret to save his own neck…

* * *

Hardison spent time editing the audio recordings of the information about the drug cartel, the money, and cocaine, and then had Tara and Sophie come to his room to rerecord their voices in disguises so that they could take Lorena to the local police. Even though the original plan was to arrest the both of them at the same time, it was generally decided between the two grifters, the hacker, and the replacement hitter, that they needed to hold onto Diego, but then later, they'd hand him over to the police after Operation Phantom Cobra was over. They left Diego's name and voice in but took out all the stuff about not getting to eat and little things like that so it wouldn't sound like the confession was coerced. They were going to send the former Mrs. Spencer to jail and the team was going to have a hold on Diego Rodriguez until after Vance had a chance to get a crack at him. Alec also set up three fake bank accounts under Lorena's aliases for the police to find to make her look bad… Once he finished with the editing of the audio, he went to work changing the shipping documents to change the delivery location from the Port of Los Angeles to the Port of San Francisco because there was a big drug selling opportunity up in Oakland, Hayward, and surrounding areas. See, Parker was hoping to set El Serpiente to believe that because they stole the blood money from the Delgadillos', the Delgadillos' were going to be blamed for stealing the shipping crate of drugs but really, the blond thief was going to have the crate… Because Parker was El Fantasma…

* * *

When he was ready, Hardison gave the all clear and Tara and Sophie packed up Lorena from the warehouse. She didn't really fight the two women but she wanted to know where they were taking her… Of course they didn't say a word. The grifters wanted her to think that maybe they were going to get rid of her and not take her to jail… Or that they decided to take her to jail instead of getting rid of her. Either way she was royally screwed. They stopped half way there to make sure that Lorena didn't have a tape recorder in her purse recording the goings on. Then they drove her to the nearest police station… It was a single story older building. Soon Tara walked Lorena in to the building as Sophie carried a manila envelope with the faked records they had on Eliot's step-mother. The grifters decided it should be that way because if Lorena decided to run, the blond woman would be better at stopping her. The faked records were of the real information they gathered on the woman's past crimes, but to the police they would most definitely have been real. All they had to do was call the other police station to check on the unsolved case of Michael Geary Dalton's murder… And it was noted on a Post-It inside the envelope to do so.

"Hello, I'm Special Agent Bonnie Kramer and this is Special Agent Tanya Kale with the FBI. We believe that Lorita Stone here, also the former Mrs. Lorena Spencer, aka Lorena Kassidy, aka, Lorita Dalton is wanted for two counts of pre-meditated murder, trespassing, forgery, and theft."

"Hey Joe, come take this woman to holding… I've gotta have Dean and Chris check this envelope out."

"They're not really with the FBI, you know. I didn't do anything they say I did. I want my phone call. You know they starved me and wouldn't let me eat? They aren't agents, call the FBI!" Lorena yelled her last sentence as Officer Joe Campbell dragged her off.

"If you want you can call our boss…" Tara as Tanya spoke.

"There's no need. How come yawl didn't arrest her yourselves?"

"We don't have time. We have to be on a flight to California to catch Diego Rodriguez because friends of his helped him escape FBI custody. We were assigned this case so we have to go to Los Angeles to arrest Diego. We believe you guys can handle arresting and processing her. We won't tell a soul we let you have this one if you won't," Sophie as Bonnie spoke of the rivalry between cops and the FBI; it was always a battle for bragging rights.

"You'll owe us one later," Tanya said.

"Well, I'm sure we can make an arrangement with you ladies later…"

"Yeah, we've got to go catch that flight," Bonnie uttered in the best fake American accent Sophie had, and then both of the women turned, and just walked out of the building as if nothing was wrong…

* * *

Parker stood in the kitchen and watched Eliot take a bite of her pita pizza. And then she saw how his taste buds deciphered the ingredients and it showed on his face that it tasted, at least, pleasant. When he finished off what was on his plate she came in with another pizza that she had kept warm in the toaster oven. The toaster oven tray had been large enough to make two and since he was a man, and he slept most of the day, and through dinner, she figured he'd be hungry. She snapped up the other plate and then gently set down a clean plate with the second pizza in front of him with a soft smile. Parker went away to the kitchen and put the dirty plate in the sink with hers from her dinner earlier.

* * *

Eliot took a bite of Parker's pita bread pizza and the way the flavors just melted together was fantastic. He couldn't believe that the master thief had made something good; something he hadn't taught her to do. So how did she learn how to cook? True, it was only a simple pizza made out of thin bread, so it may have been the only thing she could make well. He knew from experience that she didn't have any kind of chef training, but she watched him in the kitchen a lot when he was trying out new recipes for the Bridgeport Brew Pub's menu… And then she brought him another one. The hitter decided to reserve judgment until she made him something else… So he filed the thought that Parker could cook something decent into the back of his mind. He finished up the meal and she took away the second plate.

"What was that about that will come later once I asked if this was one of Hardison's finds? Where are we exactly?"

"His wife found it and we're just an hour outside of Portland, in Oregon."

"Good, so then tomorrow you can take me home."

"Um, about that… I can't."

"Dammit Parker, why not? I have a perfectly good apartment in the city."

"Because, because you are home…" He watched her calmly say like nothing was wrong…


	88. Chapter 88

**A/N - Howdy gang!**

**My great-aunt is about to pass so I am not sure when I will have chapter 89 ready. But it's WALL SAFE WEDNESDAY, so I am sending out the new update today!**

**A/N - Oh and Parker messes a little with Eliot's mind... And Eliot learns his fate... For the time being.**

**Enjoy and please REVIEW!**

* * *

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means… You're staying here until you're well."

"Dammit Parker!" He slammed the glass in his hand to the table. Fortunately it hadn't broken. "It took me months to find that apartment close to Nate's!"

"Well, it's someone else's now. We gave up your lease."

It was almost too much to bear… Gone… His home was gone. Then where were his things? Was there no end to this nightmare? We… Who's we? The others must have helped her…

"The team and I thought it would be best if you stayed somewhere quiet and relaxing. The rest of your things are in storage," she spoke as if she read his mind.

"Don't you get it Parker? Staying with you isn't quiet and relaxing to say the least! It's a nightmare!" He yelled at her.

* * *

Parker knew that the hitter was going to be upset so she took it with a grain of salt; in one ear and out the other because she was trying to do what she felt was best for her friend… And one day she hoped he would see that… True, what he said had hurt, but she wouldn't let him see it. No, she wouldn't let him see her get upset… Because that would be normal, and wasn't she the, 'Not Normal Crazy One?' She felt like yawning as the rest of the day's energy was spent. It was time for her to go to bed because she was going to be a busy beaver with the Halloween festivities. She had a private Halloween party to get ready for and some guests were coming and one of them was a special gift for Eliot and another for her.

"If you want to stay up that's fine, there's still a fire in the fireplace if you want to sit up with it. I'm going to bed. Good night, Eliot," she spoke and then placed a kiss to his temple before she went up the stairs to her room.

* * *

Eliot was actually waiting for the door to slam closed, but it didn't. She closed it quietly and with a soft click. What was he going to do? He was stuck with her until the others came and rescued him. And to make things worse, he was stuck with casts on his legs. The hitter unlocked his chair and rolled himself into the living room next to the spot where Parker had been sitting. The fire was warm on his face as he sat in the wheelchair. He was so very tired… Emotionally and physically… Eliot knew that his friends cared for him but they were starting to create more stress than take it away. The flames in the fireplace caught his attention for a while. Out of the blue, a memory came to him of his mother… The time a young Eliot Spencer came home frustrated after he lost a football game… He weakly smiled at the remembrance. He was upset that the team didn't take his idea for a really good play because they thought it wasn't best for the team… And they lost the game… His mother told him that when things were out of control to think about the one who was in control, God. Eliot could almost hear her voice… She had sayings like, 'When God closes a door, remember that a window might open…' Okay, so Parker and the team closed the door on his apartment, where was the dag-gone window that was supposed to be opened? He thought on that question until he noticed that the sky was getting lighter out of one of the living room windows. The hitter wheeled himself back to the room where he came from and closed the door.

With some effort, he got himself out of the chair and back into bed. As he pulled the covers up over his left shoulder, he remembered that after his mother's little comforting speech, he quit football, made his dad angry because he no longer had his, 'All-American Football Star,' in the family and ended up in home economics with loads of girls. And somehow, he'd still pleased his mama. He learned a lot that senior year… The beginning of which started with that promise to Aimee and ended with the promise to Uncle Sam and his country.

* * *

Parker hadn't gone to bed right away… Sure she went through her nightly routine, of brushing both sets of her teeth and hair with one hundred strokes a piece, and then into her pajamas she had stashed in her new closet. She climbed up into bed and sat up a while after she had retrieved her small notebook from her ritual supplies bag she'd taken to Oklahoma in her pack. She knew she was a little late in writing down her goals for the coming year before her Samhain (Pronounced Sow-an) and Mabon rituals. Samhain was the beginning of the Celtic New Year, so she was sort of making a New Year's resolution. Usually, she did it a week or so before the main event, but she had been busy with Eliot… So Parker started to concentrate on what she truly wanted to accomplish in the coming year, and she made them ambitious, yet viable… Only if the other party involved would be interested in her in the coming year… She drew silly little stick figure style pictures because she didn't have the room to fully add details. Later for the ritual she would have objects to represent her goals. Parker wanted love, family, food, and friends to fill her house. As far as love went, she put in a little goal that she knew that their love would be tested but she also wrote that she wanted the goal of coming out stronger in that love. She wanted to cook more for Eliot and wanted to put getting married on the list but it was too soon for that particular goal, so she put down dating Eliot…

It didn't hurt that she added that she wanted to help Eliot get some clarity to what she meant to him in the coming year… If not, she also added that she wanted to help him finish getting through the grieving process that Sophie had talked to her about. A yawn and she closed her notebook before it went into a drawer in her nightstand. She hid it under a couple of notebooks she used for figuring out timing for jobs, the harnesses she needed, and for designing them. The tired thief scooted down her sheets and her head hit the pillow before she turned out her small lamp on her nightstand. In the darkness, after her eyes adjusted, she saw the moonlight through her window. Parker had decided to surprise Eliot with some of her cooking and he seemed to like it… Truly, it wasn't chef-like fine dining like Eliot was used to cooking, but she could cook to survive. She just pretended not to so that she could make the hitter cook for her. She never even asked Hardison to cook for her once… She didn't tell Eliot before because she didn't trust the newly formed group's hitter enough to let him in… To let any of them in. It had been interesting to her that they had all met once before to steal that knife thingy that Nate ended up with and then losing it…

And she definitely didn't want the others to know she could cook or they might've made her cook and that was Eliot's job. No, Eliot's food was much better than hers, but she didn't want to discount the fact that what she could cook was pretty tasty too. And Parker hoped that she had gotten her foot through the wall he had around his heart through his stomach. The tired thief closed her eyes and the last thought on her mind as she drifted off to dream-land, was of Eliot…

* * *

In the morning, Parker was up at six. She had things to do; she had guests coming and a private dinner for her and Eliot to prepare for… But first, she grabbed her yoga mat and headed for the upstairs of her barn that contained her office. The blond thief worked out for an hour and then hit the shower before she went downstairs to start breakfast. Operation Bump-In-The-Night was going to be so much fun… Or a disaster if Eliot didn't want to accept what she was offering him… She started to scramble some eggs and had bacon and frozen pancakes heating up on the griddle. And with an extra arm from somewhere, she added water and the single cup serving of coffee into the coffee maker before she flipped the switch with her big toe on her left foot. After breakfast she was going to call Anisette and see if her sister Cosette was available. See Samhain was also known as Ancestor's Night or All Hallows Eve… which got whittled down to Halloween. And on Halloween the veil between the living and the dead was lifted. So, the dead might be invited to join the living and their loved ones until morning before they had to return through the portal to the underworld. And Parker needed a priestess to open that door for her so that she could have Eliot see his father again and maybe she could see her brother again… Among other things…

Once breakfast was made, she scurried off to her room and found her black lace push-up bra and panties set. The bra had black and orange feathers sticking out of the outer edges of the bra straps, framing her chest, bosom, and neck. It almost made her look like a bird… But then she put her black face mask on made out of more black lace with two eye-slits cut from it before she put her witch's hat on and tilted slightly to one side. Then she added a nice triple stranded diamond choker that had small bits of obsidian and diamonds set in pure silver settings. They hung like pendant icicles in a triangle shape right in the center; the longest one hung right between the push-up bra cups. Of course it had to be a push-up bra because she wasn't all that well-endowed like Tara or Sophie, so she was trying to tilt the scales in her favor… She promised to give Sophie full details on what happened when she wore the costume that Sophie helped her put together way before Eliot had his accident. The original plan had been to wear if for Alec, but then the time never seemed right… Then Parker scurried back to the kitchen and grabbed the tray of still warm breakfast in bed she had made for Eliot… The hitter was still in bed and she had heard all the noise he made earlier that morning as he tried to get back into bed.

Parker quietly opened the door and put the tray down on the chair under the lamp in the corner. She rolled the wheelchair slightly out of the way and stood a few feet away from him as she opened up the blinds to allow more of the morning light into the room. Then she heard a groan behind her…

"Happy Halloween, Sparky!" She announced as she turned on the light on his nightstand.

That greeting earned her a low growl.

"Time to wake up, I've got coffee and food for you. Just sit up and I can put it on your lap."

"What the hell are you wearin'?"

"Just a little somethin' to get your attention and make you wake up. Now, come on, food's getting cold," Parker narrowed her eyes at him as she smiled.

* * *

'Day four-hundred and sixty-seven of this Parker nightmare…' Eliot thought as he groaned because he had to cover his eyes from the headache forming in his skull.

Then there was a cheerful Halloween greeting… And that's when he got a peek of Parker out from under his hand shading his eyes from the light on the nightstand that she'd turned on because the sun wasn't fully up. She looked like a cross between a sexy witch, Zorro, and an escaped dancer from Carnival in Rio. And then he looked to her rack and noticed that something was very different there… Eliot felt stirrings below his belly button and he gave her a low growl… This wasn't how he'd planned on waking up… And then the blond thief was telling him that he had to wake up because she had food for him, plus coffee.

'Yeah, good luck with that… Wait… She cooked something? She made breakfast and coffee?' The hitter thought as he tried to kick his own butt into gear.

Whatever she'd made smelled good as he caught a whiff of the coffee and bacon… The only thing he thought of was to ask her what the hell she was wearing… If that was going to be her costume all day, he decided that maybe he'd just spend the day in bed. Oh and then she replied by saying she was wearing it to get his attention and to make him wake up… Well, dammit, he was up! Parker waited for him to sit up against his pillows and then he watched her as she bent over to pick up that tray of food and he'd gotten a look at somethin' he'd never forget… Dammit! It made his heart race a bit… The perfect heart shape of her ass in those panties; her long and toned legs… Dammit! Why was he thinkin' of Parker like she was some hot babe he'd love to nail? No, no, don't think of Parker that way… And dammit, he wouldn't start now…

'The Butcher of Kiev ain't got nothin' on Parker, 'cause dammit, she's killin' me…' Eliot thought before she stood and turned around with the tray of food in her hands.

She gently set the tray over his lap and took the plastic, domed cover off of the food. The sight that greeted his eyes looked pretty good… Scrambled eggs, three slices of bacon, three pancakes that looked like they had once been frozen, with butter, and some kind of dark syrup drizzled over them. He was almost expecting the eggs to be some kind of egg beaters or have some kind of shell in them.

"Eat up and I'll be back to collect the tray. I've got some things to take care of. Be back in a bit…" And then she popped back out of the room and closed the door behind her.

Eliot was surprised to find that the eggs, in fact, had no shell and were very tasty. They were light and fluffy. The bacon was perfect… Not too salty but had the perfect crunch without being over cooked. The only thing he found fault with was that the pancakes had once been frozen, there was nothing like fresh-made pancakes. The coffee was decent… He missed the special brew he had at his old apartment. And then the memory of what Parker had told him came back… He wondered who put the idea in her head that it was a good idea to give up his apartment… But then again, did it really matter? He didn't have to listen to that woman in the apartment next door who liked to do Zumba exercise at three in the morning any longer. However, Eliot worried how much longer he was going to have to remain in the casts on his legs. He hoped that now that they were back in Oregon, he could get them looked at…


	89. Chapter 89

**A/N - Howdy all! **

**My great aunt passed on Thursday of all days, which happened to be Christian Kane's birthday...**

**And so I couldn't help myself, I needed a distraction and Parker was wonderful. **

**I am sending this on Saturday because we are having a heat wave here. It's supposed to be 100-109 starting Sunday to Wednesday. So I changed dialysis to be able to come in early on Monday and Wednesday so I don't have to be in the heat this next week. My brain is already working on a Permanent 99 schedule...**

**A/N - I realized that in all 88 chapters I hadn't described Anisette or her sisters... Well, here's the chance.**

**This chapter was brought to you by Black Flowers, Wicked Game by Chris Isaak, the numbers 99, and the leters C and K.**

**Hope you like it, enjoy it, and please REVIEW!**

* * *

Parker contacted Hardison and got Anisette's phone number as she picked at a pre-packaged blueberry muffin she'd grabbed for breakfast with her cup of coffee. She didn't have time to eat a full meal like she'd made for Eliot. All Alec had to do was hack into the hospital's personnel files. So the thief dialed up the cell number that she had because she recalled that her sister, Cosette didn't like to be around humans. Nature was much more alive than some people… And it didn't get pissy with you when you wanted coffee at seven in the morning. The line rang three times then picked up.

"Anisette Jardine."

"Good morning. This is Bethany Ford. Could I ask a huge favor?"

"Bethany? How did you get this number?" The unnerved nurse asked.

"I can't tell you over the phone. I can explain tonight if you could come to my house. That's the favor actually… I need your sister Cosette to do a Samhain and Mabon ritual. I thought if you and Josette could come too, that the power of three would be stronger than just little ol' me."

"Oh sweetie… I don't know," Anisette faltered. "This is highly inappropriate."

Parker could hear that the woman was unsure that she wanted to get involved with a former patient's family… But she wasn't about to give up. This was for Eliot… Okay and a little for her as well.

"Pretty please? I really need this for Lazar's future."

"I'm off tonight, but I'll have to check with the others. You know it takes a few days to get in contact with Cosette."

"Oh dear… Well, call me back at this number if you can make it," and Parker gave her the number to a burner phone she'd bought in Oklahoma on her way back from stealing food.

"I'll see. Have a good day, now."

"I hope so, you too."

* * *

That had been the weirdest call Anisette thought she'd ever gotten. Bethany Ford, of all the billions of people on the planet, just called her out of the blue. Somehow, the former patient's sister needed help… And she knew her sister; Cosette would be doing her own rituals that night anyway… Maybe she could get her to change the venue? Anisette grabbed her keys and headed out for her white Honda Pilot in the driveway. The front door slammed behind her and was locked securely by a remote that was in her hand. Anisette had to drive a bit out of town to get to her sister's place. As she drove, she had her hands-free contraption holding her cell phone. It was set to voice calling…

"Call Josette Jardine-Cook," she spoke and the cell phone began to go through the contacts directory.

The phone began to ring five seconds later…

"Josie here, hi Sis. What can I do for you?"

"Are you free tonight or do you have plans?"

"I get off at noon, why?"

"I have a favor to ask… A former patient's sister needs us to go to her home tonight to perform a Samhain and Mabon ritual tonight. She thought the three of us would be more powerful than just her."

"You know that's really inappropriate, right?"

"Yeah. She says it's important."

"I'm up for a Halloween party any time really, but for a former patient's sister?"

"She said she'd explain everything when we get to her place. She's a little strange but she seems harmless."

"How soon do you need an answer?"

"As soon as you can. I have to get directions from her."

"And what does Cosette think?"

"I haven't talked to her yet, but you know she's doing those very rituals tonight… I thought maybe a change of venue."

"I guess I'm in… That is, 'if,' you can get Cosette to agree, I'll be there with bells on."

"Wear those ones that have that tinkling sound like the fairies sprinkling magic dust on the dead flora when you pass by."

"You got it."

* * *

Cosette Jardine was in her greenhouse and labeling herbs she'd picked for the last harvest she'd need for the rest of the year. Then she hung some up to dry when she suddenly heard an engine pulling up to her place. She wasn't expecting any visitors… She tried to hide and made it over to a small window where she could peek out onto the front of the house. Oh, it was only Anisette. Cosette let out a breath she was holding.

"I'm in here Ani," she yelled loud enough for her sister to hear.

And a minute later, Anisette appeared in the doorway. The woman with raven black hair came up to her sister. Anisette had dark mulberry color in her shoulder length hair. Josette had pageboy cut dark chocolate hair. The identical sisters had decided that one of them should change something about themselves when they were younger. They hated getting called by the other's name. True, they had birthmarks to separate them, but the locations of those birthmarks were where the public wasn't supposed to see. Anisette had an oval and was the oldest of the identical triplets by three minutes. Then Cosette had a star and was older than Josie by another three minutes. And of course Josette was the baby of the group as the youngest with a heart birthmark. Unfortunately, they weren't born on Halloween, which Cosette thought would have been so cool, but they were born in April. The sisters hugged warmly…

"What brings you out here on this fine Celtic New Year?" Cosette began the conversation.

"I know how you do your rituals here from time to time without Josie and me here…"

"Yeah… And?"

"I need to ask a huge favor… You remember I came to you for that bowl of coarse sea salt?"

"Yes…"

"Well, she needs more help. Seems she wanted to ask us girls to go to her place tonight to do the Samhain and Mabon rituals… Josie's in on it if you're up to it. I still think it's highly inappropriate since she's a former patient's sister, but sometimes, I can't help but want to help her."

"Are you sure you haven't been under a spell?"

"Yes, I'm sure. But it seems like fun and said it was for her brother's future. She said she'd explain everything when we got there."

Cosette took in the information from her sister, but Anisette didn't know that Cosette knew that her sister was going to come and ask for the very thing that the stranger was asking her to do. The middle sister also knew that she had a new neighbor at the far end of her wooded piece of property… What she didn't know was that it was Parker's wooded area at the north end of that property that was butted up against Cosette's piece of property. She wasn't exactly sure who moved in because lots of people had been going in and out of the piece of property, but she knew it had been bought. She saw the barns go up and all the workers when she went snooping through the woods because of all the construction noise on her walks through her trees. She liked to do so to get to see the brilliant fall colors in the trees she had on her property; they were different from her new neighbor's.

"I'll do it, but you'll have to help me gather my tools and supplies."

"Great. I'm free now. I'll get the directions in a bit," Anisette spoke.

Within an hour they had everything but the food ready. That would be gotten last minute so that it could stay in refrigeration until just before the time to leave.

* * *

After Parker got off the phone she fished out the discharge papers for Eliot from her backpack. She found the number they wrote down for a doctor that Eliot could go see when it was time to get his casts replaced or taken off, a doctor Marshall Pierce. It had been at least a week since he'd been out of the hospital and they'd tried to make sure he'd stayed off of his feet as much as possible with everything that they had to get done. He'd been wearing the casts for some time in the hospital as well, so… Maybe it wouldn't hurt to have things looked over again. So the blond thief scheduled Eliot for an appointment for the second of November. After she'd satisfied herself that she'd done her first good deed for the day for Eliot, she pulled out her small red notebook from the bookshelf in the living room. It was hidden behind a collection of Harry Potter novels she never really had the time to read with being on jobs so often. Parker figured that kids might like them, so it didn't hurt to have them. She carried the red notebook into the kitchen and began to flip through it… On that night's menu, she was going to surprise Eliot again… A nice pumpkin soup with toppings, chocolate cupcakes with orange colored, cinnamon and vanilla piped frosting, glazed ham with petite green beans, and a spinach salad with corn nibblets, grape tomatoes, and garbanzo beans, and topped with a warm blackberry vinaigrette, cheese and garlic croutons. One thing the meal guaranteed; Eliot would be going to bed with a full belly.

After she finished making notes on the meal in her little red book, she hid it in a drawer and went up to her room. She changed out of the silly costume and into a vanilla ice cream colored Cashmere turtleneck sweater and an old pair of jeans. His attitude told her that he wanted her to cover up... Then fine, she'd cover up. Then she went back down to Eliot's room and actually knocked before she heard the room's occupant tell her that she could go in.

"Feelin' better, Sparky?"

* * *

Eliot had been staring out the window, wrapped up in warm covers when he heard footsteps thunder up the staircase. He wondered what the hell was going on… Because then five minutes later, those same feet thundered back down the stairs and stopped at his door. He heard the light knock and told the person outside to come in. Parker opened the door and asked if he felt better… He assumed she meant if he felt better after the meal… He was, to some degree but he frowned instead… Parker wasn't in that hot mess of a Halloween costume anymore. The hitter was actually missing the damn costume! She was going to drive him crazy!

"What happened to the costume?"

"I had to change. I've got things to do…" He frowned deeper...

"Like what?"

"Like getting whatever that ripe smell is out of here…" Huh? Did he smell?


	90. Chapter 90

**A/N - Well, I have had to change my dialysis shift to come in for first shift... That's 5 AM for those of you that don't know.**

**All because we have no air conditioning in the car and if we did, we couldn't run it for fear that it would harm the engine.**

**So, I have been staying up late with the muses and we decided to open up the next 9, maybe 10 with this chapter. **

**I also thought you all deserved a treat... And there's a reason why I set this story to automatically to M...**

**Fair warning... I sometimes symbolically use food for body parts...**

**A/N - Enjoy your FABULOUS FUNDS FRIDAY! And Please REVIEW!**

**WARNING: ADULT SEXUAL THEMES and Parker silliness ahead!**

* * *

"Stay here, I'll be back," Eliot watched as she disappeared with the tray of his breakfast dishes.

The breakfast in bed wasn't so bad. The eggs were fluffy, but not like the watery fake eggs like he'd been served in the hospital, nor were they pre-made eggs out of a carton. They were definitely farm fresh. Farm raised eggs had a richer flavor in the yolk than chicken farm raised eggs; those had all kinds of hormones and things in them. The pancakes needed work… But he had to give her a good grade for at least getting them heated just right without burning them. The syrup wasn't the real stuff from a tree, but he had to make do. The bacon was just perfect… He could tell that it was pure bacon and not that fake stuff or some kind of blend like turkey bacon. The coffee wasn't too bad either. All in all he guessed he'd give that breakfast a B-; of course he had to take off for the pancakes and syrup. Still, it plagued his mind that Parker was up to something and he wasn't sure what she had in mind. He heard her thunder upstairs and then five minutes later, thunder down and into another room, and then ten minutes after that, thunder back to his door. This time Parker came sailing in dressed differently again. She had on a black, orange, and gold bikini top, and those really short shorts she wore at the hospital… Her blond hair was up and in silly unbraided pigtails. Eliot tried to nip his feelings in the bud, but he couldn't help but stare… And to make matters worse, those fucking triangles holding her breasts in were making him want to see what was behind them… Fuck! They were almost into winter already… Wasn't she cold?

"Dammit Parker! What the hell are you doin'?"

The thief ignored him and tossed back his covers before she maneuvered the wheelchair closer to the bed.

"Come on, up with you, Sparky."

"What for?"

"So I can give you the partial grand tour… What do you think? Come on…"

She obviously wasn't planning on giving her a tour of the farm house whilst she was dressed like that, was she? It was cold outside… He wasn't sure what she was up to but he decided it was in his best interest to humor her and do what she said or he could find himself stabbed with a fork or worse.

* * *

Parker waited as Eliot brought his legs in the casts down to the floor. She went around to the other side of the bed and grabbed the extra pillow for the hitter to land on. Then he maneuvered himself into the chair and had a soft landing. She went about her way, putting his casts on the foot rests so they could move. Soon, they were on their way. Across from his room was another door. Parker opened it…

"This is the guest room for Nate and Sophie," she said as she showed him the interior.

Then she pulled him back out and showed him the den…

"This is the den and computer room plus a make-shift office… Hardison stays in here. There's a Murphy bed behind that bookcase."

"Orange curtains?" Eliot whined.

"It's a soft orange…" Parker defended her choice.

Then she took him down the hall to the bathroom for anyone to use in case the ones in the rooms were occupied or out of order. There in the middle of the room was a massage table covered in towels and a pillow was under a towel at the head. It was low to the ground so that she could reach over to any part of him and that it would be easy to crank up so that he could stand later. She had something special planned because she owed him something from the full moon ritual she'd just done on the 29th.

"Now, I know you can't get wet, Sparky, no baths or showers… But I think I found a way around that," she said as she locked the chair in place.

* * *

'Oh fuck… What did she have in mind now?' Eliot thought…

"Parker, you know I can wash myself…" He tried to remain calm.

"Silly Eliot, how are ya gonna wash your back?"

'Okay, so she had a point…,' But that still didn't mean he wanted her to wash him…

The next thing he knew, she had him up on the table, face up. Then she started to help him undress… That's when things got hairy… He still had his boxer brief underwear on.

"That's enough," he protested.

"Silly, then you'll get your underwear wet… Nope, they've gotta go," she told him, to the point.

Then she covered him with a long hand towel over his sausage and large grade AA eggs. Suddenly, Eliot felt her stripping off his underwear under the towel. He grabbed for the hand towel and kept it in place. Of course he had to lift up to help her or she'd end up destroying his clothing, but then he'd also held the material in place so that she wouldn't see anything important. Then Parker put one of those black sleeping masks over his eyes. He tried to take it off and she swatted at his hands.

"Dammit Parker!"

"Leave it on… Hands at your sides. Your orders are to relax and slow your breathing…" Parker barked at him.

He could almost see her narrowed eyes… Suddenly, he heard water running… And the clicks of one of those lighter wands you use to light a fire if you don't want to use a match… It had a distinctive sound. Then he heard soft music playing… Something like one of those new age artists would write…

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Nothing yet…" But then he could smell apples and cinnamon in the air.

He heard some kind of bucket or basin got filled a bit before the water turned off. Then he heard a zipper go down and then something hit the tiled floor, he assumed was her short shorts. He heard them hit something a second time and he assumed that she kicked them out of the way. The injured hitter could only imagine what the bottoms to that bikini top looked like. Eliot tried to think of Moreau rotting in that jail in San Lorenzo and kept certain things from getting any more of his blood supply. Next, he felt Parker start to move that hand towel over his private things…

"Dammit Parker!" He yelled at her as he tried to cover himself with his hands.

"Shhh… I'm just tucking the towel in better…" she said so softly.

* * *

Then he felt a kind of roughness on his chest… He guessed loofa or a small sponge. He felt warm water… And Parker began to move up and down his chest in a vertical zigzag. Eliot assumed there had to be some kind of soap involved… He felt liquid go around his neck and then she circled around his pecks, and over his nipples. He felt the sponge moved to each of his torso, up to his arm pits, and then down over his abdomen. Then to his shoulders and the inner flesh of his arms. To his surprise, she took his hand in hers and lifted his arm so that she could get to all of the outer skin on his arms. When she repeated on the other, he felt a kind of energy between their hands, but then she was gone. He heard the top of a bottle flip open and he assumed she was going back for more soap. Eliot felt so hyperaware of how his body was reacting to what Parker did to him. Her hand movements were firm as if she were trying to kick up his circulation a few notches…

'Assessment… Okay, so she's giving me a sponge bath… What's wrong with this…? 1. The way Parker's dressed. 2. The way Parker is touching me. And 3. It's Parker doing it! Okay, friends don't do things like this for each other… Not unless they wanted to be friends with benefits… Was that what Parker was after? She wanted to be friends with benefits with him? No, not possible.' Eliot thought as he laid there on the towel covered table. He didn't want to get attached to Parker… He knew it would end badly… He also knew he should put a stop to what she was doing, but he found, he couldn't… It felt too damn good…

Then he felt Parker move beyond his abdomen to his lower belly, before she went over his hip down past his groin… He felt her brush by his cucumber and walnuts as she moved just to the edges of the casts. He didn't know that she'd placed towels there to sop up the wetness. Then up she went the other leg and once again she brushed by his Sequoia and twin boulders as she moved up his hip, and back to his abdomen. Then he heard the water running again and he heard a rush of water. Parker must have dumped her basin. Water was being put back into it… Then he felt warmth spread over him again as the sponge drizzled warm water over his chest. Eliot was going through the rinse cycle…

* * *

When Parker finished with his topside, she helped him roll to one side while she replaced the wet towels for dry ones. Then she had him roll to the other side so she could replace the other side's wet materials. After that, with a little help she had him down on his chest, still with the blindfold on. Now his face was pointed toward over his left shoulder, resting on the towel covered pillow. She also had a pillow under his hips to make him comfortable; his feet in the casts hung off the end of the table. She stuffed another, dry hand towel between the hitter's legs to try and protect what modesty he had left. The fun was about to begin… Parker put more soap on her sponge and got it a little wet before she began to spread the warm wetness all over his back and buttocks, soapy foam everywhere. She climbed up on the table between Eliot's legs, the towel covering what it needed to. Once she had him good and soaped up, she leaned forward upon her forearms and then her breasts in the bikini came down and instead of a sponge, she moved her chest and hands up and down his back. She went all the way to the point where her bikini bottoms met his tight rear end… Her full body up against his…

* * *

'Oh fuck! What the hell was that? Oh dammit! Is that what I think that is…?' Eliot thought as he felt her breasts massaging his back…

There was still some roughness so she still had her bikini on… But it still moved easily upon him with the suds. She was trying to make him lose his mind! Oh DAMMIT! There were her breasts again as they massaged his back as her hands lead the way up his spine… Then she'd drag the breasts back first before her hands moved back down all the way to his ass. Her skin glided upon his so easily with all the soapy foam. God dammit, he was losing control the more she kept moving up and down his backside. Her breasts even massaged his ass for a time as her hands moved together up his back like an arrow; her forearms followed the path of his spine, just as the hands did moments earlier. Then her hands would continue up and massage down his arms as her breasts rested on top of his shoulder blades; her whole body lying upon his. That was it! She was going to drive him crazy with… Ohhh! And Dammit! She was winning! Her skin glided against his effortlessly, and from time to time he couldn't tell where he ended and Parker began. Eliot felt his control slipping as he felt his rising to her ministrations… He'd had oriental massages, but nothing like what the blond crazy one was doing to him. The hitter tried to resolve that he needed to know what Parker was up to before he let himself start to fall under her spell…

* * *

But there was no spell… Just a few rituals during the new and full moons. Parker had no experience doing spells, only rituals. And being so inexperienced in spells and things like that could get her in trouble, so she left things like that alone. But maybe if she could see Cosette alone, they could discuss it. Parker was actually having fun… Fiona Glenanne was the one who told the master thief about that type of massage after a job she brought Parker in on. She'd used it on Michael one anniversary… Parker hoped that her massage was helping to relax his body, not get him off as Fiona had Michael. Through it all, she wished that he could feel love, not lust, in her touch. When the blond thief began to hear Eliot moan and groan she knew it was time to stop before she lost her objective. After retrieving some fresh warm water as she began to send him through the second rinse cycle. Once his backside was rinsed of soap suds, she grabbed a large bath sheet she had sitting on top of the closed toilet lid, and covered over his whole back. She pulled off her wet bikini bottoms and slid on the dry shorts before she zipped up. After that she returned to the hopefully relaxed and clean hitter. She then carefully took the time to dry off his backside before she helped him turn to sit up. Parker made sure that the bath sheet was covering his goodies…


	91. Chapter 91

**A/N - First a little business... For those that thought my use of food for body parts was juvenile... I warned everyone at the beginning of the chapter. **

**That's why you should STOP and read the Author's Notes FIRST! It was just a little humor I thought would be cute for the chapter.**

**A/N - Now on to the fun stuff... I hope you like these next 3 chapters!**

**Yes, that's right 3! **

**So ENJOY your weekend! And don't forget to please REVIEW!**

* * *

Eliot couldn't see a damn thing… She had him blindfolded! And the more he thought about the situation he was in; the blindfold became symbolic of how he currently saw his world. He was blindfolded by Parker and he couldn't see reality… Obviously, he hadn't seen through to the reality of what she was doing. He was sure he felt what he felt on his backside, and he wasn't sure he totally liked how it made him feel good because it was Parker doing it. Though his body was sure it liked it. And, he was still confused as to why she did what she'd done, at least until he gained a little clarity. However, gaining clarity from Parker was like pulling shark teeth, somehow you were going to get bit in the end. It all depended on how hard the shark wanted to bite… Parker had massaged his feet in the hospital and given him a shower he still hadn't forgotten… And now she was a bit too bold by rubbing her front on his backside. It was overtly sexual to him. Once again, friends didn't do things like that for each other… Unless they wanted something to happen… Wanted to become closer than friends… And this Eliot Spencer was not going to get involved with Parker. Not possible! He didn't want to get attached to her because he knew it would end badly. And it might even tear apart the team… Dammit! His life with the team had been pretty good up until the point of his accident.

To rip the team apart now would be worse than the hell he was going through with being under house arrest by Parker. Because Eliot knew that if he gave them up, he would slip back into his old habits to survive. It meant picking mercenary jobs to make money to survive… It meant becoming a cold, heartless, insensitive monster for a paycheck. He would become one of the bad guys Nate's team was trying to take down. And what if he came up against Nate's team while on a job for someone else? Could he be just as ruthless towards them as he was to other enemies? He didn't know if he could… Yeah, he could do it… But it would kill another little piece of the heart he'd fought so hard to regrow. Anyway, he needed to nip things in the bud with Parker and or correct her thinking on what kinds of things friends do for each other… But he wished Sophie was there to do the retraining of the blond thief. Eliot knew if he waited until Sophie was done in Oklahoma, things might be worse where Parker was hurt again and he was angry and frustrated. He was really trying not to be mad at her for taking the time to help him because now he had selfish motives of his own… See he'd thought it over while he was sleeping in his dreams the night before. If he could keep her at the farm like she was keeping him, really against his will, then he could keep an eye on her. He could make sure no damn feuding drug cartels were after her. Because no one was telling him anything about this Operation Phantom Cobra and it was weighing heavily on his mind the closer that the shipment was due to come into Los Angeles.

But for now, he needed to get dressed and get the hell out of the room with Parker dressed the way she was. He took off the blindfold and noticed that her bikini top was wet and her points were sticking way up high, to nearly quote a Bob Seger song. And she just knelt down at his knees where he could see down the front of the bikini top and the sides of her creamy orbs nearly popped out of those small patches of fabric… Dammit! Then Eliot tried to think of something else, even something so stupid like Hardison in a tutu. Even though it was almost disgusting, it was just the right amount of funny to distract him. Some place between getting dried and drifting off into a conversation with himself, Parker cranked up the table to where his feet touched the floor and then must have snuck out of the room as she was trying to now put a different pair of underwear on him. He stayed her hands with his own… They were wrapped around her sensitive thieving fingers. This time, Parker pulled away from him. He was concerned because of the way she pulled away. It felt to him like she was scared of him somehow. Eliot didn't know why she might be scared, there was nothing to be scared about unless… He wondered if maybe she was scared that he'd yell at her…

"I'll dress myself," he said calmly to try and put her at ease until he could figure out how to talk to her about what had happened.

* * *

Parker stood and moved away from Eliot and the table. She had indeed been a little frightened that the hitter would yell at her for being crazy or that something was wrong with her… She already knew that; she didn't need another reminder. When he spoke to her gently without a hint of anger, she wasn't sure whether she could relax or still remain on guard. So instead she scooped up her wet bikini bottoms into a towel and tossed it all into the sink. Then she handed Eliot a pair of sweats that were three sizes too big for him and a t-shirt from his room. The sweats were some that Sophie bought from the last shopping trip before she and the hitter left Oklahoma. The grifter just figured out that he could just tighten the drawstring to keep them on. Once he was dressed, Eliot moved himself into the chair after Parker put it closer to his position and held it there so that he could get in safely. He lifted his own legs, one at a time, up onto the foot pads so that they wouldn't drag. Then she wheeled him into the living room where she stopped in front of the sofa and locked the wheels in place. He must have gotten the hint as to what the plan was, because he managed himself out of the chair and onto the sofa, all by himself. Parker took the chair away and figured that she could get him to let her take care of washing his hair so that the rest of him wouldn't get wet. She had a utility sink in the lower portion of the barn that housed her office upstairs, and she had one of those beauty salon chairs that leaned back with it, just temporarily until Eliot could be on his feet again… After their appointment on the 2nd, she had a feeling he was about to get into braces.

The blond thief brought a dark green throw from the sofa across the room and draped it over his lap. She moved to go turn on the television when she heard his voice again…

"Parker, we need to talk." She turned back to him, that didn't sound good.

"Did you need me to fluff your pillow?"

"No. Well, yeah, but not yet. Sit."

She took up a corner of the wooden coffee table in the middle of the room. Parker rested her hands in her lap and trained her eyes to look at them so maybe, just maybe she didn't have to see the pity for her in his eyes. She if it wasn't that, it could be disappointment… And that wasn't good either.

"Parker, friends don't do what you just did in the bathroom."

"Why not?" She looked up at him.

"They don't, they just don't."

"Silly Eliot, yeah they do… Good friends do…," she nervously looked at her hands instead of at him.

"Dammit, there's something wrong with you…"

"Does that mean we aren't good friends?" She asked in her innocent little way.

* * *

Eliot knew he had to tread lightly there… He didn't know if he'd call them good friends. They were friends and co-teammates, but he didn't think they were good friends. Not like he was with… Michael Vance or Michael Westen. They were his oldest friends that were still alive… An idea suddenly popped in his head that he decided he might ponder later so it was stored in his memory bank for a more appropriate time.

"Okay, so we're not good friends. I see how it is," she narrowed her eyes at him.

The hitter was losing the conversation in a whirlpool; it felt like she was sucking him into a trap…

"Dammit Parker! Of course we're friends…"

"But if we're friends, then how come we aren't good friends? We've been a team for almost five years! I think that means we should be good friends."

"All right fine, we're good friends…," Eliot gave in, exasperated and slightly confused, "But the point is, even good friends don't do what you did in the bathroom.

"Well since friends can't do that and good friends can't do that, and we are friends, why should I not do that?"

"Because only boyfriends and girlfriends do that with each other," the hitter was getting tired…

"Why do they only get to do that?"

Eliot pinched the bridge of his nose… She was going to be the death of him yet… Somehow, without her twisting his words into another trap, he had to make her see reason. Dammit! Where was Sophie again? Oh right, in Oklahoma! How was he going to comfortably discuss sexual overtures between friends wasn't a good idea without getting himself stuck again?

"Parker, boyfriends and girlfriends get to do that because the sexual advances between them are mutual."

"Then why can't we be boyfriend and girlfriend? Aren't I your girlfriend? Sophie's my girlfriend. You're one of my boyfriends. Alec and Nate are my boyfriends too."

"Nooo, dammit! You're a girl who is a friend. That's not the same as a girlfriend. And Nate and Hardison aren't your boyfriends… They are guys who are your friends. Besides, Sophie and Alec's wife might get upset if they were your boyfriends. Sexual advances between friends aren't a good idea. Because one party may not feel the same and someone ends up getting hurt. Look at you and Hardison…" He knew that was a low blow, but he had to get her to see his point.

"Wait… So, Nate and Sophie are boyfriend and girlfriend and they've hurt each other a lot."

And there she just skipped right over the comment about her and the hacker… He sighed.

"They're a special case. They're more like friends with benefits."

"But they have those sexual warm-fuzzies too that you said wasn't a good idea. Why can't we be friends with benefits?"

"Think about what I just said… I don't need you to take care of me sexually, Parker. I can damn well take care of that on my own."

* * *

"Huh? Oh… Do you need porn?" She tried to change the subject as she tried to figure out what he was trying to convey.

Parker really hadn't been confused when she took Eliot in that bathroom… Not only had she thought he needed a shower but, she had been trying to show him some of her love through touch, and the full moon's energy was pulsing through her. It almost made her whole body shake with power. In hoping that Eliot saw her love by doing what she did, she was also taking a step forward beyond the sheet between their bodies. She did not see what she had done as sexually charged as Eliot made it out to be. It was her crazy way of getting to know what his body and hers felt like together… Without the sheet between them. She'd already spent the night with him twice with the thin piece of linen between them… That hadn't been sexual at all… So how'd he jump to that conclusion today? Then Parker realized that maybe he just wasn't ready… Maybe he wasn't ready to accept her to his bed without the sheet?

"Dammit Parker! No, I don't need porn!" He barked at her and she could tell he was frustrated.

How could she explain that she wasn't making a sexual advance toward him? He was a guy… He wouldn't get it. Sophie told her once, that the only three things most men cared about were sports, food, money, and sex in almost that order. Sometimes if a woman could combine two of the three, she stood a chance at catching his attention… All four and Sophie said a guy might marry that girl right off the bat.

"I'll go find us something to eat," Parker stood and left him behind.

* * *

Eliot wasn't sure he got through to the blond thief, but he'd given it a shot to try and nip things in the bud. It was up to her now to see where she took what he said; the ball was in her court. Then out of the blue she passed him and unveiled a flat screen television under a painting upon the mantle. She hit the power button, turned it on, and handed him the remote before she went back to the kitchen to find something to eat. Eliot thought about that, where and when had she learned how to cook…? He wondered if maybe Nate had used some of that hypnotic method on Parker… He decided he'd ask her later. Then he set about looking for a decent sports game on the television.


	92. Chapter 92

**A/N - This was fun to write... A little bit of domestic bliss between Parker and Eliot...**

**Enjoy! And I'll be waiting for those REVIEWS so Parker can get her a Unicorn.**

* * *

Eliot lost himself in a football game; the Dallas Cowboys were playing the San Francisco 49'ers. Then about a half hour into the game he realized that he hadn't asked her why she'd done what she'd done but then would that possibly have caused something more to grow between them, and wasn't he trying to cut her off from hooking up with him? He sighed… His back did feel better after what she'd done and he could feel that his feet felt warmer since his circulation had been stimulated. So it really wasn't so terribly bad for him, it was just the idea that Parker had done it. Parker of all people… He would have even let it slide if it had been a woman from a one night stand had given him a shower like that… Then his heart hit him upside the head…

'Why couldn't he accept it from Parker?' He thought.

Hmmm… But then the logical part of his brain that built walls to protect his heart, and practically ruled the roost, in a sense, reminded him…

'Because she's crazy… And we don't need crazy,' was brought into his consciousness.

It would lead to all kinds of complications and Eliot didn't need complicated relationships. Hence the reason he liked one night stands. No, he needed to keep his guard up… Just be a friend to Parker; that was all he was going to do. Then he heard banging of some pots and pans around in the kitchen and wondered what she was up to…

* * *

Parker had gone out to the back porch and grabbed a couple of the pumpkins before she turned and went back inside. She put them in the sink and then went to the fridge…

'What to make… what to make…' she thought as she stood there with the door open; letting the cold out.

Then she started pulling out meats, cheeses, lettuce, pickles, and condiments… Parker was going to make him one of her favorite sandwiches. She grabbed a tomato out of a fruit basket and the bread from a roll-top wooden bread container on the counter. Within a few minutes she had a six inch high sandwich. She called it, 'The Monster.' Parker sliced it at a diagonal and put it on a plate with some original flavored Sun Chips. She took her medicine for the cheese and made her a Monster before she grabbed a beer for Eliot. A quick stop at another drawer and with the now opened beer, and a paper towel; she picked up his plate and headed for the living room. Parker hoped that he liked this sandwich… If he did she was going to try him out on her Mardi Gras Parade sandwich.

* * *

"Lunch is ready," he heard Parker say.

Then he heard the plate lightly knock on the coffee table and then another smaller knock and then he heard her foot falls turn and head back to the kitchen. He paid no mind to the food until the play was over. His head turned and Eliot Spencer met 'The Monster.' His eyes bugged out for a minute when he looked at the six inch high sandwich.

"What is this?"

"The Monster."

"What is a Monster?"

"It's a sandwich, silly."

"I know; I can see that."

"But you want to know what's in it, right?"

"Well, yeah…"

"Well then I'm not telling, so take a bite, Sparky."

So Eliot did as Parker asked… It was sure a mouthful. His first thought was that it wasn't too bad. Upon first sight he noticed the section of cheddar sandwiched between two white cheeses, but there was also a slice of American on top of the cheddar. And he could tell that there was roast beef, pepper crusted turkey breast, some kind of processed chicken slices, and ham of some kind. He couldn't pick up on it if it was honey ham or regular ham because the other meats hid its flavor. Then he came to the tomato floor above the lettuce level and then at the very bottom was bread and butter pickles. Mustard was at the top and mayonnaise was at the bottom piece of the square ciabatta roll. This one sandwich solidified his resolve to find out where she learned how to cook…

* * *

"Parker, where did you learn how to cook?" she heard Eliot ask after he'd turned down the game.

She wasn't sure she wanted him to know, was her first instinct, because if he knew then he'd possibly stop cooking for the team and opt to let her do the meals. But she didn't want them to know, because then they'd be asking her to make stuff all the time like they did Eliot. And her fare was okay… It really wasn't all that healthy when it came down to brass tacks but it kept her alive when she was in training. She needed the extra calories to burn when her training sessions were so grueling. And then when she didn't feel like cooking she ate cereal or fortune cookies for quick sugar to burn. She actually had small travel size boxes of cereal in her gear bags just in case she felt a blood sugar low. That she knew of, she'd never exhibited signs that she was a hyperglycemic individual or even a hypoglycemic, but she did have one fast metabolism.

"Parker?"

The blond thief was trying to concentrate as one hand was in the guts of a cut open pumpkin with a scraping spoon and the other was trying to hold the large orange squash behemoth.

"Don't ask me that, Eliot. Because if you ask me that, I'm gonna tell you. So please don't ask me that," she said using his words against him and she hoped he would leave it at that.

"So what was all that shit during that French truffles job when you had me show you my art?"

'Dammit Eliot,' Parker thought to herself… 'Because I wanted to see something you were interested in other than hitting, retrieving, and being a ladies' man dammit!'

Well, to be totally honest with herself, she knew that question was coming… She just didn't think it would be so soon. And since she was in the kitchen working on the pumpkin, she had an escape. She couldn't really see his face and he wasn't about to come over where she was… So she didn't have to look at him in the eye.

"Just because I don't like to cook, Sparky; doesn't mean that I can't."

"What the hell's that supposed to mean? You can cook?"

"Finish your lunch and we can talk," she sighed.

Parker rolled her eyes… She was going to have to get it all out but then he was going to have to give her a little something too… He was going to have to tell her the worst thing he'd done for Moreau, but she'd call in that marker later. After that, he'd left her alone and gone back to the game.

* * *

About half an hour later, Parker had the pumpkin cut up into strips and on their backs with pats of butter on them on a silicone mat inside a cookie sheet. Then she put them in the oven and then went back to her red book she had opened upon the counter. After skimming down the page she went back into the fridge and took out a half ham and went about using the stolen Honeybaked ham recipe she stole one holiday because she was bored. She'd always liked the flavor whenever she had a chance to steal one. She fell in love with it for the first time when Archie snuck a plate of food to her after the family had gone to bed one night. Her ham went into the second oven and another timer was set. Then she went to the dining room and pulled up a chair. She ate her lunch and then went back to the kitchen to start the cupcakes. Parker was guilty of using a pre-made mix this time. She didn't have the time to make them from scratch as she needed to prepare herself for the rituals and still had some dinner to make. But before she put the ingredients together for the cupcakes, she went to the fridge and took out a pre-made French Baguette that all you had to do was brown and serve. She opened the package and left it out on another cookie sheet after she'd cut the bread dough in half. Parker let it get a bit hard before she put a little melted butter on the top. She left it to sit because the pumpkin wasn't ready yet. When she started up Eliot's hand mixer, she heard the football game's noises go up a few notches in decibels. After the batter was made, she pulled the Halloween themed paper cupcake cups out of the upper cabinet next to the oven. Pretty soon, the pumpkin cookie sheet came out and the baguette was its replacement. And then it was suddenly quiet. Something was up, because she knew the game wasn't over…

"You need somethin', Sparky?"

* * *

For the past hour, something was wafting in from the kitchen into the living room and it was driving his stomach and nose up a wall because it smelled so good. He could pick out the scent of pumpkin and not too long later it smelled like honey… And, and ham… He hit mute.

"What is that smell?" He yelled from the sofa.

"Just a scented candle I lit," he had no idea that she'd lied…

But then he put two and two together… They don't have honey ham flavored candles…

"Nice try, now what is it?"

"Dinner, now hush."

"But we just ate not too long ago…"

"I know, but I have things to do and I won't have time to make something later."

"What do you have to do?"

"I have to see a man about a goat."

"Goat? What the hell?"

"Fine. Then horse, I have to see a man about a horse, now hush and go back to your game," he heard her yell at him in the living room.

Eliot could tell she wasn't happy… He wondered if that little tidbit of information was supposed to have been a surprise for him. Hadn't any of them gotten it yet? He wasn't into surprises… Yeah, look at how he accepted that present of that beautiful blade from Nate and Sophie that one Christmas. He didn't even give the mastermind or grifter any kind of thanks. No, what did he do? He sliced up a helpless and innocent chair… And Hardison took it out of his Christmas bonus paycheck that he left in their offices apparently before he took off to a Jamaican vacation for the holidays. Parker didn't go with him because she had other plans she told no one about…

* * *

'Dammit Eliot… So much for your surprise…' Parker thought as she filled the little paper cups with cupcake filling.

The blond thief had planned to get Eliot a horse to help him his therapy with his legs. You know, just in case he got bored with walking with a cane or doing exercises with her. If he couldn't walk on two legs, then she'd give him four to help him get better. She still couldn't get on one herself, but her friend was in need… When the baguette was done she pulled it out of the oven mitt and put it on top of a cooling rack. Then she moved on to taking the baked pumpkin and turning it into from scratch puree…


	93. Chapter 93

**A/N - Well it's quite bizzare to think that here we are... Almost half way through the last 10 chapters!**

**I will see you all again next FABULOUS FUNDS FRIDAY!**

**I can't wait for your REVIEWS! Enjoy!**

* * *

About 4:00 o'clock in the afternoon, Parker heard a hockey game on… She was done with the cooking and it was all cooling in the refrigerator. She quietly snuck into the living room; Eliot was sound asleep on the sofa. She was happy… The tryptophan in the pepper crusted turkey breast had put him out, naturally. She didn't have to drug him with a painkiller or something. After a quick quiet trip up to change into warmer items, the blond thief quietly slipped out the front door, after she left the hockey game on. It might have woken him up if she'd turned it off. She started out to the main road, walking. A good stretch of her legs sounded good and she now had a mail box she had to check. She didn't want someone stealing her mail. Parker didn't know anyone who'd be sending her mail this soon. No one knew they were there except for the team. So it was a huge surprise when she opened the door to the box and found a small stack of postcards from… There was a huge marsupial with tiny ears and big feet plus a pouch on its tummy. They must be from Australia… She flipped one over and it was from Beretta to her. She wanted to say, 'Hi,' and 'Wish you were here.' Parker carried the pile back up the road. And just before she reached the front door, a vehicle was coming up her drive… The master thief made a mental note to have a huge security gate and barbed wire fencing installed around the property. It was now early evening and it was almost time for her guests to show up. She rushed into the house as quickly as she could in case it was an enemy. She went to the kitchen for her Taser and then looked through the peep-hole on the door. She saw it was Anisette! Parker opened the door just a crack.

"Be right with you. Just gimme a sec," and then shut the door before the poor woman had even rung the bell.

She went off to the kitchen and put the postcards on the counter as she reached for the right drawer. Then a plain gold ring went on her left ring finger from one of the drawers. After getting her jitters out a bit, then she went to answer the door. She hadn't expected them so early, sunset wasn't until six. Right away, she opened the door, stepped outside, and closed the door behind her.

"Hi. I wasn't expecting you so soon. Let's go to the barn."

"Bethany. I'm sorry. I thought I told you, it takes Cosette some time to set up… Where is the site?" She said as she followed her.

"If you head that way by the field, I tied an orange ribbon there on a tree."

"Now, what is it you couldn't explain over the phone? How did you get my number?" The nurse said once Parker had shut the door on the side of the barn where her training gear was upstairs and out of sight.

"Lazar and I aren't really Lazarus and Bethany Ford…" Parker still kept Hardison, Nate, and Sophie a secret.

"What?"

"Ya see, I can't tell you what our real names are… Or I'd have to have you killed, and I really don't want to do that… We work undercover a lot. It's important that no one really knows who we are."

"I knew it… I knew he wasn't your brother… I can't explain it… I just knew it," said the thirty-two year old nurse. "So what can I call you?"

"Alice and Wes Abernathy," Anisette noticed the ring… So Parker held her hand up.

There was no way she could say that they were Eliot Spencer and Parker… Because if the three sisters knew that, it could open up both parties to danger and the master thief didn't want that. It was already bad enough that the thief and the hitter were hiding out at the farm from a major drug cartel from Brazil, but that would be ending soon and then the team and Eliot's step-family could be back together with him.

"Heh, I knew that too… I can't explain that either, but if I had to… It just seemed like you were there in his room and too protective over him I guess. I've seen brothers and sisters, families come and go, in and out of floors I've worked on, and they've never been as close as you were to your husband. But, now that I know, everything makes more sense."

"We've only been married five years. He's still as grouchy as the day we met. Sometimes he calls me Parker, because I cheat at Monopoly from time to time. I park on my properties and don't mortgage anything. I call him Sparky, just to make him mad."

"How is Wes?"

"He's resting. He fell asleep after lunch. He watched sports all afternoon. Can you believe it? So I gave him a little something with his meal to help him rest; those legs don't instantly heal, you know. Just a little turkey breast goes a long way. I'll be getting him up after we're done outside."

"He's a man. They'd all put sports over their health if they could. Anyway, I'll go take the girls out there so we can help Cosette get ready."

"When should I come out?"

"Any time you can. And bring what you need with you."

"Gotcha… And thanks for all your help. You have no idea how much this means to me."

* * *

And really, Anisette didn't… Everything Parker had set for her resolution for the coming year was dependent upon that night. The nurse got back into her white Land Rover and then turned the vehicle around before she went the direction, 'Mrs. Wes Abernathy,' sent her in. Wait until Eliot got up… She'd have to tell him that he was no longer Lazarus Ford, but now one of his former aliases… And he'd been married to Parker for five years! Parker had to smile at that… Then she went back inside, right for the kitchen. The ham was done and now cooling on the stove. The cupcakes had a few more minutes… Parker was sure Eliot had been soundly sleeping when the vehicle pulled up. So when she heard a voice from the living room uttering… She jumped a little.

"Who was that?"

So, he had been awake…

"It was the mailman."

"What mailman? No one knows we're here…"

"Well the team knows and now Beretta does. She sent some postcards. Just go on back to sleep, you can read 'em later after dinner."

"Fine, wake me when dinner's ready," he sleepily said.

There were no more sounds from the living room after that. Parker hoped that he had fully gone back to sleep. She went upstairs to the master bathroom to get ready…

* * *

Out at the site Parker had picked for the ceremony, Cosette had found the center tree with the orange ribbon. She took it down and looked up. It was absolutely beautiful… A natural occurrence of seven trees that had grown in a crescent shape.

"We'll make the circle here at this tree," she spoke before she headed back to the Land Rover to get her materials.

Josette was already unloading her sister's magical tools from the back seat. Cosette grabbed her backpack and headed back. Once there, she waited as Anisette cleared the ground of fallen leaves in a deosil manner. When she finished, Cosette took out her double-edged athame with a dulled point and a black handle inscribed with runes chosen by its owner. It was going to be used to channel and direct psychic energy. The athame was associated with the magical element of fire, so she began to craft the magic circle with the blade, and drew a circle around the edge of the ground Anisette cleaned. Then the blade drew a pentagram; the ends met outsides of the circle. There, her circle was cast. Next, it needed to be cleansed. So Cosette brought out the other elements, air represented with incense made of mint, nutmeg, and apple got lit and waved a bit before put out. The scent was so wonderful in the air; water was represented by water that had coarse sea salt dissolved in it, and earth, with the coarse sea salt she and Anisette had gathered. After cleansing the casted circle she began to use the athame to invoke the elemental guardians of the four directions; which was also called casting the quarters. She drew elemental pentagrams at each of the quarters of the main circle. On the elemental pentagrams Josette placed a wand for air, the athame for sword and fire, and a silver chalice for water. The athame served in work for the spiritual and astral planes.

Next, Josette and Anisette placed a medium sized folding table in the center of the pentagram and the circle. Cosette then placed the altar in the center of the table before she placed her orange altar cloth over it. The black tapered Goddess candle was placed toward the top left area of the altar in one brilliant crystal candle holder and the black tapered God candle went to the opposite corner of the altar; the right, also in a brilliant crystal candle holder. Then Anisette came along and placed the black votive candle into a cast iron cauldron. Josette helped her position it on the floor in front of the altar because it was heavy. Cosette went back to the Land Rover and got the plate of fruit, vegetables, and breads to go between the Goddess and God candles; right in the center of the altar. Anisette was already getting excited… She hadn't been to a Samhain ritual in two years, because she had to work. She had hated to skip such an important event for her sister, also the gathering of the three of them together to visit and have fun, but she needed the money. She had been saving up to buy her first house… The first year she'd been gone, Cosette sent her a copy of Hocus Pocus, and said she looked nothing like Kathy Najimy's Mary. She suggested that her older sister should watch it for a laugh since she thought it wasn't worth the film it was printed on. Anisette texted her back and said she was no Bette Midler's Winifred. Josette got wind of the joking around and said she's had days where she wanted to run around being Sarah Jessica Parker's Sarah, dancing around the room yelling, "Amuck, amuck, amuck…" They all agreed they'd had days like that too. Then the youngest sister that they all get together as soon as possible and watch Practical Magic…

They weren't cursed like the women in the movie were, but they more liked the eye candy and they felt a kind of kinship with the young women who were sisters. The aunts reminded them of their mother, Hera and their favorite aunt, Penelope that usually went by Penny. The two young girls reminded them of the joys of learning of the ways of Wicca. Josette was married to a gamer. He worked as a video game tester for several companies and was paid well. She took the job at the hospital to keep their black cat fed and to have some mad money, not to mention, being close to her sister. No children insight yet, hence the reason for the cat. She wasn't much of a practicing Wiccan, but she was pretty decent at spells and potions. So, she did things like that on the side. She liked the Good Witch television movie series with Catherine Bell… Josette always had a dream of opening a potions and other stuff shop somewhere… The oldest, Anisette was single by choice for the time being. She worked long hours because she really liked taking care of people, getting them on their feet again held such a joy for her. So, dating someone was out of the question for the time being. She liked going home to her dog, a chocolate cocker spaniel instead. From time to time when she was available, she helped Cosette or Josette if they needed her for some ritual or spell, but she didn't practice much Wicca either. And then there was Cosette… She didn't care for people at all and all the negativity in the real world.

So, she retreated where it was quiet and peaceful. Her two other sisters were the only humans allowed in her world. There were deer in the woods around her property and other animals. She had three cats and three dogs. Most of them were rescues that people brought her. She helped to nurse them back to health and she liked their personalities, so she kept them. They brought her so much unconditional love that she couldn't find in the real world. Anisette and Josette came out and hooked her up with the internet and a dish, because it helped them feel better with her so far away from the city. Cosette doesn't drive and she sometimes used a bike, but if there was an emergency… So, the sisters hooked her up with a cell phone as well. The middle sister was a practicing Wiccan. You name it; she could practically do it in her sleep if she had to… Cosette placed an apple in the pentacle of coarse sea salt representing earth before Anisette had placed a boline on it at the center of the altar, below the plate of food. Her boline, a small white handled, crescent moon shaped blade, the mate to the athame was placed on the altar. The boline was used in the physical process of magical working like ritual cutting; it serves for the physical plane and for practical purposes like harvesting herbs, cutting herbs, cutting ritual cords, and inscribing candles with symbols. Cosette placed the rest of the things she needed based on her personal preference… It wouldn't be long now. The sun had already fallen into the trees.


	94. Chapter 94

**A/N - The rituals begin!**

**It was kind of fun writing the rituals. And no, I am not a Wiccan. I actually had some help from the internet writing these two chapters. It was kind of fun learning some history.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy it... The visuals and stuff. **

**If you aren't into this kind of thing, just hop, skip, and jump over the rituals parts. There are some Eliot parts coming up soon.**

**Please REVIEW!**

* * *

The three women had already bathed for purification at home so they would be warmed and dry before going out into the cool October night. Each of the triplets had necklaces with a crescent moon and a sun from their mother so they were all wearing them under their clothing. Then the three sisters sat together and meditated to ground and center themselves before the rituals were to begin. The sun was going down in another twenty minutes and the temperature was cooling… So the girls all pulled Cosette's portable metal fire pit out of the back of the land rover and set it up with a nice roaring fire to stay warm by. It was nice too that they were using up some of the debris Anisette cleared from the ground.

* * *

Parker padded into her bathroom and lit the white candle she'd placed in the bathroom earlier that evening when she'd come up to change out of her clothes, along with the incense made of myrrh and frankincense. She put out the flame and slowly let the smoke waft into the air a bit before she put it totally out before her smoke detectors would go off. Then she added two tablespoons of coarse sea salt to her hot bath and swirled it a bit to dissolve it. Next she turned on her small stereo in a cabinet across the room. It began to play music by some Celtic Trance band she'd liked. She'd bought their CD at a world music store in San Francisco just after a job. As she slipped off her robe and into the warm salt water, she began to remember the good times she'd had with the team, before her mind drifted off to the good times she'd had with her brother before he was killed. Parker began to meditate on her brother and she thought of Eliot's father looked from the video parts she got to see. After that she pictured herself being cleansed by the salt water mentally as she actually took a bath with the warm water in the tub. When she finished, Parker stood and dried off before she dressed in a black cat suit like the many she dressed in for jobs going through ductwork. She put on the necklace she wore in front of Eliot that morning; it hung perfectly on her neck. Her black obsidian stone was already buried near where they would be holding the ceremony so that it would be purified in time for the ritual. She did so the last time she was at the farm before they'd gone to Oklahoma. The blond cleansed woman went back downstairs wrapped up in her black cloak with a bag of items she needed for the rituals. She quickly made some cider with cloves and cinnamon sticks before she put it in a thermos and grabbed four apples from a basket on another kitchen counter. Then the thief slipped out the front door and into the night as she ran out to the trees where she knew the three women would be waiting for her.

When Parker arrived at the circle and Anisette took care of making the introductions after they all stood. She announced her as Mrs. Alice Abernathy and then she introduced Cosette to her. Parker already knew Josie from the hospital. Anisette promised to explain things to her sister later. Cosette told her to go and place the items that represented her goals and the loved ones she wanted to cross through the portal into the living world. So the blond thief placed a handkerchief of Eliot's, a DVD of To Catch a Thief, and an empty T.V. dinner box on the altar to represent dinner and a movie with Eliot. She placed a dog collar on the slab next to denote getting a dog. She unfolded a picture she drew of her and the hitter hugging but it was supposed to mean that she wanted more Cuddling Eliot. Kissy Eliot wouldn't have been so bad either but she had other, bigger priorities… She put her rose quartz bracelet on the altar to embody the love she had for the stubborn hitter. Parker had envisioned BIG, but the white wedding dress would have to come later. So, no Barbie in a wedding dress and no Ken in a tuxedo yet. She didn't know what to use for adding conflict to whatever it was between her and Eliot so she grabbed a pair of his boxing gloves. Now they were on the altar as well. Then she placed a gun on the altar to signify victory in the upcoming mission in California. And for the loved ones… She put Bunny on the slab to symbolize her brother and for Eliot's father; she actually had the wooden urn of ashes. She knew Eliot would kill her if he found it missing so it was a huge risk in having taken it out of the room. Parker didn't have anything to represent her parents… So her brother was the next closest person. She told the other ladies about her late brother and her late future father in law so they would know who to expect through the portal.

* * *

Then the blond took her place between Anisette and Josette, and Cosette at the top of the circle; each one of them stood near an element. Cosette cast a magic circle around the altar now that everyone's items were upon the stone altar. The four of them remembered those loved ones lost and wished them joy wherever they were. All the women then began to concentrate on their goals for the upcoming year. They would be writing them down after the Samhain ritual was completed, for use in the Mabon ritual after. Anisette hit a button on an old 80's style boom box that had been modernized to play a CD. Slow, rhythmic, soothing, new age music by Loreena McKennitt began to play and they all agreed that it was very appropriate for the ambiance. It wasn't very loud, but still, Parker worried that it might wake up Eliot. He couldn't get to where she was at by wheelchair, but she wouldn't put it past him either. Cosette began to call to the Crone part of the Goddess as she lit the black tapered Goddess candle. Then she spoke to the Goddess like a prayer…

"Dark Mother, ruler of the night, Goddess of death and rebirth, hear and behold your children this night as we honor Thee and Thy realm. We stand humbly before Thee, asking for Thy blessing and favor. Lift now, the veil between the worlds, as this time-out-of-time begins, that we may commune with our ancestors as they travel to the Summerfields."

She stepped back from the altar and concentrated on the Goddess candle's flame. It didn't immediately rise and flicker, so silently Cosette projected the group's wishes to commune with their loved ones that had passed on. Then the flame rose and flickered… The wishes had been acknowledged. So then Cosette began to call to the God when she ignited the black tapered God candle. Then she spoke out into the night…

"Dark Father, aged consort of the Crone, Lord of the underworld, hear and behold your children this night as we honor Thee and Thy realm. We stand between Thee and Thy Lady, asking for blessing and favor. As this time-out-of-time approaches, stand ever guard as the veil lifts. Keep safe our ancestors and all of our loved ones as they travel to the Summerfields."

Cosette once again stepped back from the altar and concentrated on the God candle's flame. Anisette, Josette, and Parker individually projected their wishes for their loved ones to be kept safe on their journey. Right away the flame rose and flickered, so Cosette stepped up to the altar and picked up one of the apples. Then she spoke…

"Tonight as the barrier between the two realms grows thin, spirits walk amongst us, once again. They are family, friends, and foes. Pets and wildlife, fishes and crows. But be we still mindful of the Wee Folk at play… The elves, fey, brownies, and sidhe."

* * *

Then she cut the Granny Smith she brought apple crosswise with the boline and it revealed the symbolic pentagram at the core, the sacred symbol of the Goddess. She took a bite of one half of the apple and set it back down upon the pentacle, for after that apple and others would be buried outside later after the rituals were completed. Then Cosette continued…

"Some come to trick, some come to treat, and some to purposely misguide our feet. Stay on the paths we know as planting sacred apples we go."

Then she had her wand in her projective hand and began to bless them, 'the Feasts of the Dead.' She waved it over the plates of fruits, vegetables, breads, and spoke:

"This feast we shall leave on Alice's and my doorsteps all night. In our windows one candle shall burn bright, to help our loved ones find their way. To help our loved ones find their way as they travel this eve, and this night, until day. Bless our offerings, both Lady and Lord, of breads and fruits, greens and gourd."

Cosette phrased it as such so that, 'Alice,' could take the extra tray of food back with her home. Of course she would also have to light candles in the window; one for Franklin and one for her brother. The 3 sisters were all spending the night at Cosette's since they all wished for the same relatives long gone. Then the middle sister replaced the wand upon the altar and stepped back before she bowed her head. She stayed silent for a minute or two as the dedication was given. Then she lit the black votive candle inside the cauldron and voiced the next thing.

"Dark Mother, your cauldron is a well of death and rebirth. Dark Father, your sword both protects and annihilates. Hear us now as the past year slowly dies, only to be reborn again. Today, the last of the harvests is complete. This symbolic harvest is of our thought-seeds, planted and nurtured throughout this past year. May the good come to pass and the bad be cast away. With your divine guidance and shelter, as we set foot into the New Year, may we have good health, prosperity, and happiness."

Cosette picked up the white pillar candle and lit it with the flame of the black votive candle before she uttered more into the night air.

"As the New Year is birthed, we are all rebirthed with new hopes and dreams. Guide us in the future as in the past. Give us strength and courage, knowledge and fulfillment, and assist us as we attempt to achieve our goals."

* * *

Then she snuffed the black votive candle and replaced it. She took away the white pillar candle from the cauldron that had been next to the black votive candle. Then she placed it in the center of the altar after moving one of the food trays.

"Please, now stare into the flame and think about the goals that you are setting for the upcoming year."

Cosette stared into the flame and did as she instructed the others. Parker focused as hard as she could on those goals she really wanted to happen. Anisette and Josette did theirs as well. After a pause for that part, Cosette went on…

"Every beginning has an ending and every ending is a new beginning. In life is death and in death is life. Watch over us and our loved ones, here and departed, who, on this night are together again with us for fellowship and celebration. Bless us all as we light our bonfires, our hearth fires, and the eternal fires in our hearts. Guide us and protect us, tonight and throughout the coming year. Blessed Be! Blessed Be!" Cosette had her arms stretched out over the altar as if to embrace all of the ancestors, and the departed loved ones, and everyone on the planet Earth.

When she said, 'Blessed Be!' a second time, she embraced herself with a rebirthed love and pride as a practicing Wiccan. It was time for meditation and spell working. Although, 'Alice,' hadn't asked for any spells, the middle sister did anyway. She wasn't sure why either but she had a feeling when she had sat down to meditate before the ritual. So Cosette went on with those. She included spells of protection, self-confidence, and dissuading harm for her, her two sisters and, 'Alice.'

"To watching winds we wish fair traveling. To sleepless dead we welcome this night. Gods and Goddesses, go with praises. See! The wheel is severed thus," Cosette said and then she cut with the sword to the east. The rite is ended."

"Merry meet and merry part and merry meet again!" Anisette, Josette, Parker, and Cosette all spoke together at once.

"Yeay," Parker started a silly little dance; so like a little kid.

"Okay, now we need to set up for the other ritual and then we can go home to party," Anisette said.

* * *

Mabon, the Autumn Equinox, is celebrated in many ways around the world. It is a day of balance with equal amounts of darkness and light, but soon, winter will arrive. In some Wiccan traditions, it marked the time when the Sun King fell into the underworld, from which he will be reborn at the Yule ritual. Then the four women began to clear the altar of the items and then they brought forth a basket of squash, gourds, and small pumpkins, with fall leaves and acorns, vines, grapes, and blackberries. Josette put a pair of orange candles to represent the harvest upon the orange tablecloth. Then Parker poured a coup of the cinnamon, clove, and cider stuff she brought in her thermos. Anisette supplied the apple that she got from her bag… Then Cosette started to cast a new circle according to her tradition. Then she placed a purple candle for the element spirit, a statue of the Goddess, and a bowl of holy water before she brought out her lighter. She lit a stem of sage and lavender and set it on the altar in a holder so it wouldn't burn the orange tablecloth. Then she placed candles at each end of the circle, green at the North for Earth, yellow at the East for the wind, red in the South for fire, and lastly blue in the West for water. Then Cosette lit the harvest candles before she faced the altar and held the red apple in both of her hands up to the night sky. Already she felt the wisdom and the energy of the gods coming to her…

"The apple is sacred and a symbol of the gods and the divine goddess. It holds the knowledge of the ancients inside. Apple trees are a courier of wisdom and guidance. Welcome to Mabon!" Cosette began. "Tonight we ask the gods and divine Goddess to bless us with their wisdom!"


	95. Chapter 95

**A/N - ****Many special thanks to my Kay and Flo... Love you gals for keeping me supplied with CK and plot horses to RIDE!**

**Enjoy everybody!**

**Please REVIEW and have a great weekend!**

* * *

Parker looked up at the night sky and saw so many more stars than she could ever see in the city… She was in awe… Then her attention was pulled back to Earth.

"We do this ritual to grant us time to thank the gods for their bounty and blessings, and to enjoy the magic of the earth before the winds of winter blow through," Cosette sliced the apple in half across the middle and then held it up… "Where the seeds are, you will see a five-pointed star. That is the sign of the divine Goddess."

Cosette placed the two halves in the center of the altar. Then she started to welcome the elements. She started with lighting the yellow candle for air in the East, then on to the red candle for fire in the South, the blue candle for water in the West, and then the green candle for Earth in the North, before she moved to the center of the sacred circle and lit the fifth candle; the purple candle for spirit.

"The yellow candle is for air; the red candle for fire; blue for water and green for Earth. The purple candle is for spirit. This is the master element because it represents the almighty Goddess."

Then she went to Anisette and drew a pentagram on her head with holy water.

"Blessed be," she said and Anisette repeated it back.

Then she went to, 'Alice,' and did the same.

"Blessed be," Parker replied.

And lastly she went to Josette and copied everything with her.

"Blessed be," Josette said with a smile.

Then Cosette then drew one on her forehead and voiced her, "Blessed be."

Afterward, she placed another red apple and a pomegranate upon the altar. On the altar Cosette placed a 'planted,' pot of earth for each participant. She lit some white sage incense to signify the purity of the magic circle. The Priestess Cosette spoke in a strong, sure, and confident way. She was sure of what she was saying; she believed in the divine Goddess.

"Five points in a star, hidden inside an apple," she said as she held up one of the halves of apple. "One for earth, one for air, one for fire, one for water, and the last for spirit."

Then Cosette turned to the North with her arms rose to the heavens and spoke…

"The world passes from light into darkness, and the golden fields of the earth bring the promise of food and nourishment through the winter." Then she faced east and spoke, "I stand on the threshold of the darkness, and know that the summer breezes give way to autumn chill, which bring forth the blazes of color in the trees."

* * *

Just then a small breeze blew up and through the trees around them. It was kind of eerie but cool.

Then Cosette turned to the south and spoke, "We call upon the wise ones, the ancient gods, as the sun moves away and fire fades, to be replaced with the chill of the night." And finally she faced west and uttered more. "We will reflect on the guidance of the gods, and let the cool autumn rains wash over us, cleansing our hearts and souls."

She lifted the cup of cider to the sky and toasted the gods by what she voiced…

"The wild god returns this night to the belly of the Mother. The mother goddess tonight becomes the Crone. As the Wheel of the Year turns, the earth dies a bit each day. We willingly follow the old gods into the darkness, where they will watch over us, protect us, and keep us safe."

Then she took a sip from the cup and thought about the power and the energy of the divine. Then she snuffed one of the orange candles.

"The wild god has gone to rest in the underworld. We look to the darkness for renewal and rebirth," then she snuffed the other one and continued. "The mother goddess has entered her most powerful stage. She is the Crone, the wise one, and we ask for her blessings."

The Priestess Cosette went to the altar and held up the pomegranate, and spoke…

"Behold the pomegranate, fruit of life..." then she used the athame, the dull pointed blade, and plunged it into the pomegranate. She split it open to display the seeds inside. "Whose seeds lie in the dormancy of death!"

Then she ate one of the seeds.

"I taste the seeds of death," she said before she passed it hand to hand, each one of the women all ate a seed and looked at each other before they voiced the incantation.

"We taste the seeds of death."

* * *

Parker knew she didn't want to die from eating the seeds, but she had faith in Cosette and the sisters that they wouldn't give her something that would kill her so she ate one. She found them pretty tasty… The blond thief was actually having fun. Then she watched as the Priestess then held up the apple, and said…

"Behold the apple; fruit of wisdom, fruit of death…" she watched as Cosette cut the apple crosswise and said more. "Whose symbolism rewards us with life eternal!"

Then Cosette held up the other half of the apple and displayed the inner pentagram, and talked to the sisters and her, the guest…

"Behold the five-fold star, the promise of rebirth!"

Next, the Priestess consecrated the fruit and some wine. Then she handed it off to Anisette…

"Taste of the fruit of rebirth and sip from the cup of wine of life," Cosette said.

And after Anisette did so, she turned to her and repeated the saying. Parker took a very tiny sip and faked the rest. She didn't want to get too drunk. She still had a dinner to put on for Eliot. Then she turned and handed it to Josette and spoke.

"Taste the fruit of rebirth and sip from the cup of wine of life," she repeated.

Cosette took the cup back, filled it a little more, and presented it to the Lord and Lady, and the spirits of the dead so that they too might enjoy some libation. Though Parker thought a beer for Franklin would have sufficed. After libation, the Priestess presented each member of the group with a small pot of earth that she'd pre-planted with three lavender seeds.

"In these pots I've planted three lavender seeds because this is the season of the seed. It is a time of dormancy but also a time of re-generation for growth. Further, as the seed rests in the earth, you should each take time to rest and re-evaluate your lives. Metaphorically plant only those values which will enrich and enhance the growth within the Divine Self. Now, you may name the seeds within the pots with three values you wish to incorporate into your lives, and as the seeds sprout forth with new life, your lives will begin anew as well. Now let us join hands."

So Parker joined her hands with Anisette and Josette who joined hers with Cosette. They lifted them skyward.

"In living we die, in dying we live. The fruit is first seed, yet seed comes from the fruit. In the mystery of life and death and rebirth, the wheel turns ever, and we are its roots. The sun created in the coldness of the dark, life is born. A ray of light is consumed. From death, life is reborn, and the wheel of life rotates. Now, stand in the darkness for a moment. Reflect upon all the changes that are to come, and those things that will stay constant. Feel the energy of the gods as you connect to them, and understand that even though winter is coming, the light will return again."

* * *

Cosette felt that it was time to end the ritual so they could get to her home and, 'Alice,' could go home.

"Now we will conclude the ceremony by thanking and fare-welling each element in a backwards direction," she said and then started to bid farewell to spirit as she dismissed the quarters.

Then she blew out the purple candle this time. Next came water and then she blew out the blue candle. After that the green candle for Earth was blown out before the red candle for fire was next, and last of all was the yellow candle for air.

"To watching winds we wish fair traveling. To sleepless dead we welcome this night. Gods and Goddesses, go with praises. See! The wheel is severed thus," Cosette said and then she cut with the sword to the east. The rite is ended."

"Merry meet and merry part and merry meet again!" Anisette, Josette, Parker, and Cosette all spoke together at once.

* * *

"What happens now," Parker as Alice asked.

"Well, we left the gateway opened for the night so we all can visit with those that we called to. Before dawn we'll return here and I'll cast a circle to send them back to the Summerlands. It won't take that long. And we're leaving the apples on the altar tonight and in the morning if the animals haven't eaten them, we'll plant them here as an offering to the Earth, that is if you don't mind," Cosette voiced.

"I thought about an apple orchard somewhere on the property," Parker said.

"Now, we're going home to celebrate with cakes and ale. You take the white pillar candles home and light them somewhere they won't be disturbed but free of anything to catch fire. Don't want you burning down your home, Cosette said.

"Can I just name my lavender seeds, Fred? I promise I'll pick something better later."

The three women laughed…

"Do what you want with them," Josette said.

"You should head back to Wes. We've been out here a while."

"Um, yeah, see you all in the morning… Happy Halloween!"

It was colder so Parker pulled the hood back up over her head. Then she started to head off with her tray of food cradled into her side, and her small six inch pot of three lavender seeds, and the pillar candles in her backpack with Eliot's dad in it on her back. Eliot's dad's urn was protected from the candles because she'd put it back in the box it came in.

"Happy Samhain," all the women yelled back at her.

It didn't take her long to get back to the house. She took the food around to the back porch and put it on a small table. Then she went inside, lit the white pillar candles and put them in the kitchen window on the ledge. She knew not to leave a candle burning unattended but she needed to find Eliot, before she put dinner on the table… One last stop and Franklin was back where he belonged so the hitter didn't miss him.


	96. Chapter 96

**A/N - Wow! Almost to the end... Is everybody psyched for the sequel yet?**

**I hope you have a good weekend... There might be the possibility of chapter 97 tomorrow.**

**If everything goes my way, I will post it tomorrow, if not, you'll get it next FABULOUS FUNDS FRIDAY with interest. IE, 98 and 99.**

**A/N - Be aware, we're headed for another heatwave so the chapters might get a little spicier or a little weird by the time the sequel comes.**

**Enjoy your feast for the weekend, and don't forget to REVIEW!**

* * *

Eliot woke up when he thought he heard the front door close… He sat up and looked around. The air seemed too still. He didn't hear anything moving, just his own lungs helping him to breathe. Then he moved his legs off the sofa, reached for the wheelchair to get up, and got moving to find out where Parker had gone. He had no idea that she'd been gone for at least two hours…

"Parker?" He called out and there was no immediate response. "Parker?"

When she didn't call back Eliot looked and she wasn't in the kitchen because of the kitchen's open design. He took a minute and went to look in some of the drawers. Then he hit the jack pot… He found his good knives in one of the drawers. Was she using his kitchen gear? He was by no means happy if she was. Just because she and the team moved out to this farm that Hardison was renting, didn't give her the right to use his knives that he considered the paint brushes of his culinary art. The clock on the microwave told him that it was already a little after eight at night. Eliot turned the chair on a dime and headed for the front door. And then he was on the porch; he didn't bother to close the door behind him as he slowly rolled himself down the ramp to the packed dirt ground at the end.

"Parker?" He called out into the night air…

No Parker. Then he wheeled up to the barn that contained the hay loft and not so many windows. The barn was lit inside by solar panels upon the roof but the lights were off. He opened one of the main doors that were on tracks so it slid easily with a little bit of a push. Eliot rolled inside and found four stalls inside by flashlight that he'd grabbed from the kitchen… No horses though. It raised the interesting question… Had Parker gone to talk to a man about a horse? Why hadn't she left a note? Or at the very least, woken him up to let him know where she was headed… When it was obvious that she wasn't in the barn, he turned off the flashlight, rolled back to the door he came in after he let his eyes adjust to the darkness inside; the moonlight was still bright enough to see the outside. He rolled over the track and suddenly stopped as he spotted a figure hooded, and cloaked in black walked up to the farmhouse in the dark. The hooded, cloaked figure walked around the house and disappeared. Whoever it was must have seen the open front door, because the figure went around to the back of the farmhouse. Then the hooded, cloaked figure came out the front door and began to look toward where he was. It was so hard to see a face. It was at that moment that Eliot wished he had a pitchfork to defend himself there in the darkness of the outside of the barn. The figure stopped twenty feet from him. Then two gloved hands reached up and pushed back the hood to its shoulders. It was Parker! What the hell? Eliot was confused… Why was she dressed that way? He tried to reach the door behind him to close it, but it was too heavy being in front of it like he was.

"Dammit Parker, why the hell are you dressed like that?"

"Silly Eliot, it's Halloween."

Then he felt a bit foolish… But where'd she go and why had she been carrying a tray of food and a pot? Eliot got a little upset because she'd scared him and he was pissed that she was playing all innocent in front of him.

"Where'd you go? I woke up and you were gone. I was just looking around for you."

"Come on, Sparky, let's get you inside and I'll get you fed."

'There she goes again… Treating me like a kid,' he thought.

And then he realized that she hadn't told him where she'd been… It was obvious that she didn't want him to know where she was. Why? Then she turned him toward the farmhouse once she closed the barn door.

* * *

Parker had been walking back in the ethereal light of the waning full moon with the tray of food for the feast for the dead and her small pot of seeds under one arm, when she noticed that the front door was open. Light from inside was lighting the porch. She immediately thought of Eliot… She didn't want to call out if someone was inside attacking him and put herself at risk… Because if she got hurt, then they'd be a pair. Then she decided to go through the back to check out if he was in the kitchen. Once she took care of the food on the back porch and the candles in the kitchen window, she went to get the flashlight from the kitchen utility drawer and found it missing. She went out through the front door… There were only so many places he could be; he couldn't have gone far, considering that it was cold and he was in sweats. And that was when Parker decided to check the barn where she hoped to have his surprise munching on oats and hay by the end of the week. The door was open… Parker saw the moonlight hit the chrome of the wheelchair and knew where he was. Within no time she had him back up the ramp and into the house. She pulled him up to the dining room table and gave him his electronic book reader before she took off her cloak and headed for her room. With a quick change into a black tunic dress, a thin belt, and black leggings, she went back to the kitchen barefoot.

One by one, she pulled out the food she pre-made for dinner and put them on the counter or on the stove. Then she pulled out the ingredients for the spinach salad to start him off. It had spinach leaves minus the stems because she just didn't like them, corn nibblets, grape tomatoes her team got from a local farmer that greenhouse grew them on the vine, and garbanzo beans. Then she topped it with a warmed blackberry vinaigrette, cheese and garlic croutons. She carried out their plates and a set of silverware for each of them as well. She whirled around and went back into the kitchen to heat up the ham and to steam the petite green beans. In the middle of that she poured him some sparkling apple cider and delivered it right away. Just about the time she had those done, he was finished with his salad… So she brought out the meat and petite green beans with a little butter on them. Then the thickened pumpkin soup was up next. Parker quickly took her special medicine for the milk products in the soup. She heated up the soup and served it into warmed sourdough bread bowls with cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream on top. The lid of the bread sat to the side for dipping and she brought it out with some cut up pieces of warmed up French baguette. Fortunately, she got the soup to him before he'd finished the meat and the vegetable. She finally took a seat…

* * *

Eliot started off with the salad and found it interesting with the warm blackberry vinaigrette. Then the meat was practically melting in his mouth. The glaze was just perfect… And by the time he got to the soup he was almost full, but he owed it to her to give her a shot at tasting everything. Even the pumpkin was so rich… No… He couldn't believe that she'd made all this food. Not this good… He couldn't help himself.

"Who taught you how to cook," he asked again.

Parker dropped her fork and it clattered on the plate… Her face looked a little upset.

"Ju-Vee… I learned in juvenile hall. They taught us the basics of cooking; something to do other than committing crimes to end up back inside; survival skills they called it. Then I watched some of my foster parents cook, but from time to time I learned from watching T.V.," she looked more upset and looked like she wanted to cry.

Eliot felt like a heel as she jumped up and went into the kitchen under the excuse that she'd forgotten dessert in the fridge. She returned with a plate of three chocolate cupcakes with orange colored, cinnamon and vanilla piped frosting. She sat down and put the plate on the table between them. Her face was dry, her eyes a little red, but he knew she had still shed a few tears. Parker put her left hand back on the table as her right hand speared a green bean and it went inside her mouth. Eliot knew he had to make a move to apologize. He had forced the answer out of her even though she'd told him not to ask her where she got her training. The hitter reached out and clutched her small hand with his right hand. He didn't hold it too tight; she could still escape him if she wanted. She immediately looked up at him…

"I'm sorry. Parker, I didn't mean to upset you and I'm sorry I brought up any bad memories," he spoke and then let go of her hand to take a sip of sparkling cider.

"It's okay," she said lowly, just above a whisper; her voice had some emotion still in it.

"No, it's not. You asked me not to ask… And I betrayed that request. I just… I don't think I've had a better meal in ages. I had to know where you learned how to cook, because I knew I hadn't taught you."

"Thanks," she weakly smiled. "I mainly did it to survive when I could until Archie took me in. He wanted me to focus all my time and energy in training so I put it all away in a box in my brain."

"I still hate him for what he did to you."

"Don't Eliot. If he hadn't taken me in, I wouldn't have met you, and Nate, and the others. Hell, we did a job together and we didn't even know it… You know when we all stole that knife thing."

She had an interesting point… They had all been on a broken road that lead them to all be on the same team. Where would he have been if they hadn't gotten together? Where would she have been? Where would any of them have been?

'Probably dead or in jail,' he sadly thought.

* * *

There it was… He knew her secret. She'd learned how to cook in juvenile hall. Some of the kids had been volunteered to kitchen duty and they made the meals three times a day instead of paying a chef to come in. So the kids came up with their own meals and a nutritionist checked it over before it was produced to make sure it was nutritionally sound. Parker would help cook, but she found herself sneaking cereal out of the kitchens to keep her calorie intake up because she burned calories so fast. And half the time after cooking for so many kids, she was tired and didn't feel like feeding herself what she and the others made. Sometimes cereal was the only thing some of her foster parents fed her because they were too lazy to actually make something. And Archie wouldn't allow her to do anything other than study different subjects relating to thievery and training. He always made her earn her meals by stealing him something. Then she recalled Eliot had reached out and touched her hand… Parker could tell he was reaching out to her… He cared if he upset her now. Before, he just did it and let it hang between them, unless one of the others let him have it to make him apologize. Her plan was working… She watched as Eliot finished everything, including the bread bowl the soup had been in. Well, his appetite certainly wasn't lacking. Parker stood and took the dishes away to the kitchen where she put them in the sink for rinsing later before they went into the dishwasher. When she came back, Eliot had his mouth into one of the cupcakes; his eyes were closed and his head was thrown back as he chewed. He looked happy. She took a seat and took up a cupcake for herself. She slowly peeled down the sides of the paper before the thief took a bite. The flavors she was after were spot on and it tasted great.

Now all she had to do was wait for the other guests of the evening to show up; hopefully before Eliot went to bed. If not, then maybe they would come while he was asleep. She really believed they would come… She just didn't know if they were busy or what was going on, but they had until dawn to come and visit.

* * *

Eliot reached for a cupcake and thought they looked interesting, considering it looked like it was out of proportion. It looked like there was more frosting than cupcake, but he was still glad to have it. He pulled down the edges of one side and then dove into the food. Right away, he closed his eyes and threw his head back as the flavors brought back the taste of the chocolate cupcakes his mother used to make. They weren't the same frosting but the cake was just as moist and fluffy as hers. When he opened his eyes, he watched Parker take a bite of her dessert.

"I like the spice in the frosting. Very good job, Parker."

"Thanks. I hope you don't mind, I cheated. These are from a box."

"That's okay, I know Betty Crocker when I taste it. Don't worry, I sometimes cheat myself," he admitted.

Nope, he couldn't recall when he'd had a better meal. He decided to mentally put it down in his mind for the Bridgeport Brew Pub menu; if she'd allow him to add it. Would she be willing to make it for the others?

'Probably not,' he thought.

She was so intensely private with some things. She only added insight to her world when she had to if it meant she could do something for Nate on a job. And then he realized that maybe she had taken the time to make such a meal for him because she trusted him enough to try her cooking and be fair in his verdict of her efforts. It made his heart swell a little that she trusted him that much to share this side of her…


	97. Chapter 97

**A/N - Please forgive me, I only have a two chapter update today, because well... The Wolverine STOLE my heart today...**

**But I managed to get two chapters done... And next week is the finale!**

**WARNING: YOU'RE GONNA NEED TISSUES!**

**Enjoy and please REVIEW!**

* * *

Later on, Parker was in a lounge chair and he was parked to her left. She'd taken the time after starting the dishwasher to build a nice fire for her and the hitter to enjoy. The thief didn't allow him to lift a finger. Then she brought him the mail that came earlier. They didn't say a word between them for a few long awkward pauses as he read each postcard. Then he was the first one to break the silence…

"What's Phantom Cobra?" He asked with a tinge of seriousness in his voice.

"Don't ask me that, because I really can't tell you about it," his hackles went up right away…

"Dammit Parker! How can I protect you if you won't tell me?"

"Eliot, you can't always protect me." Now he was angry. Protecting her was his job…

"The hell I can't… Good night, Parker," Eliot rolled away to his bedroom…

He was going to make a call first thing in the morning… The hitter had some aces up his sleeves as well.

* * *

Parker really hated leaving Eliot behind, but she had to… He had to be kept safe so that he could heal. And she didn't need the distraction. She was going to do her job, get in and get out, that simple; at least for part one of the plans. Part two was a bit more complicated, but she'd beat a Sterenko with Hardison's help, the second part would almost be easy. The hard part was leaving Eliot… He was getting more attached to her, she could tell… So, she sent a text to Nate. Fortunately, it was in the afternoon on the next day.

[SpiderMonkey: Eliot trying 2 interfere in plans. Might need U 2 come home early. P.]

[MegaMind: How soon? N.]

[SpiderMonkey: I need 2 leave on the 7th 4 Cali. P.]

[MegaMind: How much longer do U need the others in Okla.? N.]

[SpiderMonkey: Until tomorrow. P.]

[MegaMind: Get them 2 the farm 1st. Will need a while 2 get from here 2 U. N.]

[SpiderMonkey: Thanks. P.]

That really wasn't what she had in mind… But the rest of the team could get to the farm before she left if she needed them to check in on Eliot. She hadn't planned on them staying at the farm until after she'd left. They were curious enough to snoop in areas they shouldn't, like downstairs in the area designated as the Leverage Team's Man Cave. Parker got up and put the fire out before she went up to bed. The spirits hadn't come yet… The thief tried not to let it worry her as she got ready for bed.

* * *

Franklin felt a strange kind of pull as he floated near by the ritual site. And then he saw this white light in an oval circle before him. Curious, he stepped through the portal and set foot on solid ground. He looked at himself and found that he was dressed in his old Marine Corps uniform; hat and all his medals. When he looked at the medals, he noticed that there weren't many. So Franklin assumed that his flesh was from near when he had joined up. He was surprised to feel that his skin didn't feel old. There were no wrinkle lines. Then behind him there was a boy, no more than six years old came through behind him. He was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. He looked just as lost as he did.

"Who are you, son?"

"I'm, I'm Benji. Who're you?"

"Short for Benjamin no doubt. I'm Franklin."

"I'm scared."

"Wanna know a secret?" The boy nodded. "So am I."

"Where are we? What year is it?" Franklin noted that the boy was smart for his age.

"No idea. Take my hand and we'll find someone who knows where and when we are."

"Are you a policeman?"

"No, I'm a United States Marine, son."

"Oh. What's that?"

"Well, I fight bad guys and keep them away from kids like you."

"Goodie. Goodie," Benji took the older man's hand.

And Franklin walked the both the both of them out of the woods to what looked like a large unplanted field. So they walked around it and ended up on a dirt road that lead up to a bunch of buildings. The boy spotted the candles in the window of the kitchen.

"We should go that way maybe?" Benji asked.

"Okay," Franklin spoke as he turned in that direction.

"How did you die?"

"I was slowly poisoned by my second wife. What about you?"

"I got hit by a car," the boy looked down at the ground, and had a sad look on his face in the moonlight. "I'm sorry I had to leave my big sister. Her name is Allie. She taught me how to ride my bike; it had four wheels. It was my fault… Not her fault. She said not to go out in the street, to stay on the sidewalk… I didn't listen."

"Sorry to hear that," Franklin said as he stepped up onto the porch.

* * *

The Marine tried to phase through the door and found out that he couldn't; he was in solid form. So he opened the door as quietly as he possibly could and saw that the lights were off, except for the two candles in the kitchen window. He thought it was quite interesting that the back door hadn't been locked. He looked to the back porch again and Benji had gotten into the tray of food. He was snacking on a piece of cheese.

"Sorry, I was hungry."

"Go ahead. We'll take a minute."

"Candy apples are my favorite," the young boy spoke. He seemed to think it over a bit. "My sister knows I like 'em. Do you think she lives here?"

"It could be just a coincidence," Franklin ate a little bit of something himself.

"What's a coin-cid-dence?"

"It means that someone else may happen like them too."

"Oh. Can we go see who lives here? I want to meet the other person," the boy genuinely did.

So Franklin stood and took the boy's hand before they entered the home. Then they went up the stairs to check up there because they heard breathing on the ground floor but Benji pulled on the older man's hand to keep going; he wanted to see upstairs.

"Now I'm sure the people in this house are asleep. So be quiet. Try not to scare anyone," he whispered.

And then they were there and he opened the door for the boy. He let the boy go in. Franklin watched as the boy climbed up in a leather chair and held the stuffed animal that had been on the chair.

"It's my sister," the boy whispered back to the older man in the doorway. "It's Allie."

The older man nodded and left the boy alone with his sister as he closed the door for privacy…

* * *

Parker suddenly woke up because she felt cold… When she looked into the room she saw the little boy with blond hair sitting in her leather chair with Bunny, the moonlight highlighting his hair. She gasped as she sat up. The boy made eye contact with her and all she saw was two big black marbles looking at her, no white at all. So, it had worked!

"Hi Allie. It's me Benji," he said as he stood and came closer to the bed.

She moved over and patted the bed next to her. He climbed up and sat on the comforter with Bunny in his lap. Parker started to cry in front of the spirit of her late brother. He looked just the same as he had the day he died in her arms. Their parents had left her in charge and they had gone out to run errands. So when they came back and found police at their home… Of course, Allison had been in charge so they blamed her. The police had called it an accident… But they didn't care; they'd lost their precious boy. They were grieving when they sent Allison Marie Parker off to foster care because they couldn't care for her anymore, and it was the beginning of a long hard road for the girl. She dropped the name Allison Marie because she was irresponsible so she began to call herself Parker… And only Parker… No first name or last name. No ties to anyone. She was on her own… That was until that day when she met Eliot Spencer…

"Hi," she whispered.

"You kept Bunny all these years?"

"Yeah, because I missed my little brother."

"I'm sorry I didn't listen, Allie. I didn't mean to get you into trouble. I should have listened to you, big sister."

"I know, but if you hadn't, I wouldn't be here now with you."

"Really? But people were mean to you and stuff."

"Yeah, really. I wouldn't have met the people I work with, and I wouldn't have met the man I'm going to marry someday. That is if he ever wants to admit to himself that he can love again."

"What's marry?"

"It would be like… Be like having fun with your best girlfriend and she doesn't have to go home at the end of the day. You'd live together all the time and you get to make a family…"

"Oh. Where is he? Can I see him?"

"He's probably asleep right now. Say, did you see anyone else when you came to the house?"

"Yeah there was this man… He had a round hat and he said his name was Frank-lin. He was all dressed up and he brought me here," Parker smiled…


	98. Chapter 98

**A/N - Chapter 98 is brought to you by plain M&M's, Hugh Jackman on David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, the new Wolverine Movie, and the Whiskey I had in mind... 'If' I could drink. Oh and my girls in crime, The A.M. Coffee Crew... You know who you are!**

**A/N - Welcome to the new story favoriters and followers!**

**Please savor it all until next FABULOUS FUNDS FRIDAY! And Don't forget to REVIEW!**

* * *

The Marine left the boy, but he seemed to remember that her name was Parker. He recognized her as the woman his son had been traveling with. So if she was there, he wondered if his boy was there as well. He went back downstairs and opened the door to the room they passed by not too long ago. It was Eliot… His boy looked like he was fussing in his sleep. He was dreaming of that woman he called Parker, who was upstairs, and about something called Operation Phantom Cobra. He didn't know what that was all about… The spirit decided to ask someone in charge when he got back to the world he came from. Franklin took up a seat in the corner by the lamp and the guitar. There were so many things he wanted to say to his son; he doubted he had the time to speak of everything he wanted to before sunrise. So he decided to discuss the most important things closest to his heart… Love and his son's future. Because he pushed love and family out of his life, now in the after-life, his unfinished business was to help his son find love and to help him gain his own family; to love them and treat them right.

* * *

Eliot was in bed and he felt coldness on his arm. He felt something cold as ice brush across the hair on his left arm. He instantly woke up and he held up the gun he had under his pillow. His sight was a bit unfocussed so he blinked. There before him sitting on the edge of the bed, in the moonlight was a man in a Marine uniform. Within a flash, he was fully awake and alert; very startled. He sat up against the head of his bed, upon his pillows. It wasn't the most comfortable position but he made it work.

"Yes, it's me, son." He turned on the light where the whole lamp was fully on.

"Dad?"

"Albeit a younger version of me, but it's your father."

"What? What are you doing here? You're… You're dead."

"Yeah, I know. Remember I told you I had some unfinished business I needed to take care of? Well… I'm still working on it."

"Okay, so what are you doing here now?" The hitter had a hard time believing that his father was solidly before him; he felt the weight of his father's body on the bed beside him.

"I'm sorry you've had all the weight of my death on your shoulders. Honestly, I didn't think my life was gonna end the way it did. I know it's been a nightmare."

"Yeah, Lorena's in jail. The people I work for helped to put her there."

"Thanks."

"I got your message at the crematorium. The Doors… God, if I hadn't been so damned mentally, physically, and emotionally drained, I'd have been laughin'."

"Just to let you know, son, I approve of what you and Beretta decided to do with my ashes… And beautiful container; I couldn't have picked a better one myself."

"Thanks dad."

* * *

"Eliot, I know you don't want a relationship with your friend Parker, but…" Frank expected his son to cut him off when he started the sentence, so he let him…

"Dad, no. I'm not gettin' involved with her."

The Marine in him wanted to say that his son should know that he shouldn't leave a man behind, to hold the line at all costs, and protect his own; but he figured that Eliot wouldn't understand who'd been left behind and what line did he have to hold? They weren't in a war. However, he would have understood the clear message to protect his own. The lost man that was once a father; wanted to tell him to go out and make that girl his; to marry her, and start his own family… To be better with his family than he was with Eliot and his mother. And yet he had to keep the lost father inside at bay, because there were rules he had to abide by, and they stated that Eliot needed to discover things for himself… Frank decided to bend the rules a little…

"Son, you need to keep her close."

"Why?"

"You must protect your own, find a reason to stay, and never leave a man behind…"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know what it means. I have to go. My time is up," it had been later than he'd thought it was or time had flown because he felt the pull to return to the portal he stepped through.

"Dammit Dad! What are you trying to tell me?"

"I'll be seeing you…" Franklin went around the open door and closed it behind him.

* * *

"DAMMIT!" Eliot was so frustrated that he actually yelled.

'What the FUCK was that? How could his father say something like that and then just leave?' He thought.

He barely believed any of it had happened! His late father appeared out of the blue like that and in a solid form… Something had changed that the spirit had been allowed to have a body. He found that strange since his father was in ashes in the wooden urn on his dresser. Eliot understood what protecting his own meant…He wondered what his feather meant about keeping Parker close and finding a reason to stay…

* * *

Parker was excited that her little operation had been achieved. Franklin Spencer and her brother Benjamin Michael Parker had come as well. She was shocked as she heard Eliot's yell downstairs. And then she saw the door open. A good looking man in a United States Marine uniform popped his head around the door. The blond thief tried not to be too startled; she didn't want to scare of whoever was there.

"Time to go Benji," he softly spoke.

"Really? Do I halfta?"

"Yes Benji, you have to," Parker told her late brother.

"This is Allie, my sister," Benji beckoned the older man into the room; he pulled off his hat and held it in his hands.

"Pleased to meet you, ma'am. I'm…" Parker cut him off…

"Franklin Spencer… Please, I go by Parker now. Um, it's nice to finally meet you. I see where Eliot gets his good looks from."

"About my son, he's not so happy with me right now, but I gave him a little shove in your direction," the spirit winked at Parker.

"Thank you. I need all the help I can get…" Parker got out of bed in a pair of blue flannel pajamas with little Eiffel Towers in the design. "Come, I'll walk you back."

Parker put on her cloak and tan Ugg boots before she found a flashlight in the kitchen. It was still a bit dark to go walking out on the dirt road out to the location. She stopped a moment, creeping by Eliot's room, the door closed. He would most likely fall asleep, but she wasn't so sure depending on what his father told him; the push in the right direction. She felt the coldness of her brother's hand in her right hand as they walked out to the ritual site in the forest. When they arrived, the blond thief saw the portal before them and was quite surprised. Franklin turned to her, with his hat on, and began his farewell.

"Thank you for the time tonight you gave me with my boy. I'm not done with him yet, and I will return, but not as I was tonight."

"Maybe we could have you back next year…" Parker hinted…

"I hope I'll be available…" Then he turned and walked toward the portal. "Thanks again, Parker."

"You're welcome, Franklin."

And then he was gone… Parker could barely believe this night had happened. Tears were falling already for Franklin, for Benji, and for Eliot.

"Don't cry, Allie," Benji tugged on her hooded cloak; he didn't want her to be sad.

"I'm fine," Parker sniffled.

"I have to know. Can I come back?" She nodded yes.

"Next Halloween…"

"'Kay. Be happy. See ya," her brother said and then he too stepped through the portal and was gone.

* * *

Then Parker found the shovel Anisette left against a tree. In the dark with a flashlight, she started burying the apples in land that had been cleared… Like the former owner had been expanding the property before death. She planted the trees in a five point star pattern like she had seen the star inside the cut in half apple Cosette had held up. She just finished the last planting when she heard someone coming up the road… It was already after 7:30 in the morning and sunrise was in twenty minutes… She figured it had to be Cosette and the others. Shortly after, Parker spotted the three women walking in a single line to her.

"Good morn, Alice," Cosette spoke.

"Morning, I planted the apples."

"So, how'd it go?" Anisette wanted to know.

"Just perfect, I think. Wes got to see his father and I got to see my late younger brother."

"That's great," Josette said.

"Come ladies, we need to start. Sunrise has begun," Cosette voiced.

* * *

The Priestess Cosette quickly cast a circle, they joined hands, and began to dance around the circle in a shuffle step in a deosil manner; in other words, a clockwise way. All of them began to chant three times…

"The gate is now closed. To watching winds we wish fair traveling. To the restless dead, sweet rest we send. See you again next year. Gods and Goddesses, go with praises." Then Cosette took her sword up into her hands. "See… The circle is severed thus."

Then cut the circle in the east point before she set about dissolving the circle… Once it was dissolved, the ladies talked a few minutes about what happened at Cosette's home. Then just before they were about to leave, Cosette pulled Alice aside to let her know that if she needed any more help with anything Wiccan or more rituals, that she was her neighbor to the north. The middle sister promised to show her the shortcut across to her place another time, like in the summer when the ground wasn't covered with snow or rain. Alice told her she would keep that in mind for future reference…


	99. Chapter 99

**A/N - Well! Here we are! The beginning of the end... Never thought we'd get here!**

**I hope you all enjoy this and I'll see you on the other side!**

**And don't forget to REVIEW!**

* * *

After seeing the three sisters off, Parker pulled her cell phone from her pajama shirt pocket and dialed a number… It was time to get the ball rolling… Well, it was going to be a slow ball because she hit a block with a messaging service on the other end of the line. It had been a long time since she'd called Fiona Glenanne and had forgotten that Fiona screened her calls.

"Fi, it's Parker. How'd-ja like to blow something up? Got a job if you're interested. You know the number. Call me if you want some fun." She closed the phone and walked back to the farmhouse.

Within the time it took for her to walk from where she was to reaching the screen door outside the front door, the phone rang. Caller ID told her that it was Fiona.

"What's the gig, Parkzy?"

"Hiya Fi. I have a diversion I need your help with…" Parker began, as she sat down on the porch swing next to the mummy decoration.

And so she spent the next half hour filling in her friend with the details of what she needed her to do for Operation Phantom Cobra… Her friend wanted to blow some shit UP! But she still wanted to talk to Michael about taking on the job. And then she'd bring both her boys, Michael and Sam along as well; more bang for the buck so to speak. Parker reluctantly agreed, but she needed an answer before the 8th.

* * *

He couldn't sleep… Dammit! The hitter had been lying in bed for the past hour according to the clock on his phone; the sun would be up in almost another hour. The sky was already starting to lose its darkness to the light. It would be beautiful when the sun hit the red coloring on the two barns, with the white trim. His father had said to keep Parker close… Why? Eliot started one more time to go through the dialogue again… He'd already done it nine times and hadn't quite gotten what he was supposed to see. His father had unfinished business he needed to take care of… What about his father's unfinished business involved him? He was at least glad that his dad approved of the plans he and Beretta put in place, his wooden urn, and the way he'd handled everything with Lorena. He was almost out of the nightmare because he believed that he wasn't going to be in the casts much longer. Parker had told him about his appointment at the hospital to get his legs looked at soon; just one more day… Then he'd be on his feet and he could start going where he wanted to without rolling into a room. But then his dad turned to Parker and his involvement with her. Eliot had told him that he wasn't going to get into a relationship with her but then his dad mysteriously told him to keep her close… Close to what? His heart? His body? No, he'd already set it in his mind that he had nipped things in the bud; about as good as he could with Parker.

Okay, protect his own… But she wasn't his own; he'd still protect her to the death if he needed to because she was a part of the team he was trying to heal to get back to. And never leaving a man behind… In the service, he knew what that meant, but what did it mean in relation to Parker? Was she going to be left behind somewhere? He couldn't imagine why she'd be left behind because Quinn was going to be looking out for her… Wait… Was that it? Had his father tried to tell him that the other hitter wasn't going to be able to protect her? Even Parker had mysteriously said that he couldn't protect her all the time. Eliot wouldn't put it past the blond thief to run off and do the job on her own. Then the thought of, 'What If,' crossed his mind. What if she went off on her own? What if Quinn had been shot and couldn't protect her? What if Parker had been caught and been made by one of the drug cartel members? What if Quinn had been caught and recognized… Then it dawned on him, he needed to get Quinn extra help. More people to shadow Parker and Quinn; to blend into the background… Eliot dialed someone he knew could send in a team and handle making sure Parker was safe, Michael Vance. He didn't call him Colonel unless they were doing a job together. He needed a favor from the man since he'd helped Mike with stopping the Iranians from getting nuclear power so that they could develop nuclear weapons. He tried hard not to think about the fact that he couldn't be there with Parker himself. The phone rang twice…

"Vance."

"Mike… I need a favor…"

"Do you know what damn time it is? Sure Spencer, what did you have in mind?" He was being sarcastic; it was already eight in the morning, Washington, DC time to Eliot's seven in the morning.

"Keep an eye on Parker for me. I got hurt and I can't watch her like she needs to be watched."

"I heard, and sorry to hear about your father's passing. You doin' okay man?"

"You heard? How'd you hear?"

"You know how I know, Spencer…"

* * *

Eliot wondered if Hardison or Parker had anything to do with the information getting to his friend… But that wasn't the big thing he needed to worry about; Parker was going to be on the loose and he couldn't watch her with his own eyes, but dammit, he was going to keep an eye on her.

"Look, she's been known to go maverick and think she can do a job on her own. I have another man watching her, but if she does what I have a fear she'll do or he gets hurt, I'm not there," Eliot heard a sigh in to his ear from the other end of the line.

"Spencer, I have a confession to make… I know all about it."

"What? How could you…?" Then it hit him… Parker called him, and then his old friend confirmed his thought.

"Parker called me… And before you ask, I don't know any more details than you do. All I know is that I have to be in California on the eighth. I'm bringing in Mike Westen already."

"I hadn't gotten around to calling him yet."

"I'll keep an eye on her as best I can. It's not going to be easy since the Delgadillos are getting into the fray; Delgadillos verses El Serpiente… Not going to be a pretty fight."

"Fuck, you're shitin' me."

"No, I'm not… Listen, I wish I could carry this on, but I have to get to the office."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll get back to you later," he needed to get Parker to talk to him… If not, he was going to have to break some hacker fingers to get information…

* * *

What Vance hadn't told him, was that he had to leave to catch a flight to Oklahoma. The Colonel left his hotel room after a quick stop at the hotel's dining room for some breakfast before a car arrived to take him to the airport. He was headed to the meeting to collect Diego Rodriguez from a Special Agent Bonnie Kramer and Special Agent Tanya Kale with the FBI. Though he already had both of the women checked out and found out that neither Kale nor Kramer actually existed. Then he found out who they actually were, and even though he could have had them arrested on charges of impersonating federal agents, he let it slide because they worked with Eliot and they were citizens just trying to help Parker get drugs off the streets. He soon pulled up to the warehouse that Lorena urinated on the concrete floor. It was already ten in the morning by the time he'd come straight from the airport. He got out of the rented black Suburban and headed into the building where there were four people waiting for him. The two women on the opposite side of the table looked to be the contacts as they were decked out in FBI jackets, badges, and other gear. The two men were another story… The one that looked a bit beaten up and foreign-looking, he assumed was the man he was supposed to be picking up for interrogation. Vance decided to be on his guard about the other man. He walked up to the table and as he did so the two women stood.

"Morning ladies, I believe you have a prisoner for me to take off your hands…"

"This is Special Agent Bonnie Kramer and I'm Special Agent Tanya Kale; that over there is Diego Rodriguez and Harlequinn Phillips."

"They're not agents…" Diego whined in his native language. Vance ignored him; they all ignored him.

"Bring him out to the Suburban and then we can all get on the road," Michael spoke as he took the files Bonnie and Tanya had.

Hardison had made copies of everything, so they weren't losing any vital information in giving the files to Colonel Vance. Within a few minutes, Diego was strapped into the front passenger seat, still handcuffed.

"Good luck in California," Tara as Tanya told Vance.

"I believe we're going to need all we can get. Good day, ladies, and gent."

Then he got in behind the wheel and headed for the airport…

* * *

Parker came inside and put some water into the pot that contained the three lavender seeds, all of which she named Fred. Then she took the pot out and put it on the back porch to catch the morning sun before it went over the house. After that she snuck upstairs and changed into a brilliant white bikini, the one with the straps that tied behind her head and had push-up cups. The lower panties part had a nice thong cut, not too high on the thigh. She put a silk robe over it with a beautiful blue dragon embroidered on the upper back of the robe. It was a purchase she'd made in Tokyo, Japan after a job she'd pulled with Archie. She had been dressed as a ninja and it had been fun getting in and getting out without being detected at all. She'd stayed just outside of the city under their noses as the theft was discovered. There was no way of knowing who it was… Because as a ninja, she'd taken care of the cameras as well as kept out of sight. Then she went to the kitchen with a make-up brush. Parker went to the spice rack and the cabinet with the small desert bowls. Then she grabbed a teaspoon, the cinnamon, and sugar. A little bit of this, a little bit of that, and she used the make-up brush in the bowl to apply it lightly to her cheek bones. Just a light dusting and just a little between her breasts to accentuate them. She smiled as she thought she smelt like cinnamon toast. Then, just for fun, she put a dab of vanilla extract behind each ear and on each wrist before she started breakfast. It wasn't going to be super fancy… Just a couple of egg sandwiches. Yeah, it might seem plain to some, but Parker put all kinds of things in her egg sandwiches. At least it didn't seem fancy to her… She pulled the eggs, mayonnaise, bread and butter pickles, bacon, tomato, and some Yukon gold potatoes out of the fridge. Then from the bread bin on the counter she found some nice dense sourdough bread.

Soon bacon was sizzling on the griddle and she had the bread in the toaster. Then she sliced the tomato and remembered she forgot the cheese. The toast popped up; all four pieces were ready. She put them on two plates and then headed for cutting up the potatoes for home-style fries. Those went into a frying pan with a little oil and as those heated up; she spread some mayonnaise on the eight toast pieces. Then four bread and butter pickles went down on the bottom half of each sandwich. Next the thinly sliced tomato before the bacon. She quickly pulled the finished bacon and drained them on a plate with a bed of paper towels. Then while the bacon was cooling, she drained some of the bacon grease into a Pyrex measuring cup. Two eggs were broken on the side and into the pan without a hint of shell. With a fork she busted the yolks to become fried eggs. Parker stirred the potatoes and discerned they were almost ready. So she sprinkled her favorite spice flavors on them and let them finish cooking that way. The bacon went on top of the tomato and then when they were finished, one egg on each sandwich. The last bit was the cheddar cheese over the warm egg to melt and then the top piece of toasted sourdough. Within a few minutes more, the potatoes were done and served. She put his plate on a tray and left hers on the counter. After she served Eliot his breakfast, she needed to get to work cleaning all the Halloween part of the trimmings down; the rest could stay. Of course she'd go put on her overalls and a light sweater blouse to keep warm. She carried the tray to the door and balanced it on one hip so that she could open the door. She didn't wait for Eliot to offer for her to enter.

"Breakfast, Sparky, time to wake up!" She loudly announced… The poor hitter suddenly woke up startled.

"What the HELL! Dammit Parker! I was asleep… Why the fuck're you dressed like that? It's fifty degrees out there."

"This is breakfast, it's good… And I'm pretending it's warm and tropical outside… So there," she spoke.


	100. Chapter 100

**A/N - HERE IT IS! The last chapter of this part of the series!**

**Many THANKS to my A.M. Coffee Crew! Love you dolls!**

**Many THANKS to all my readers, followers, and favoriters!**

**Most of all...**

**Many, many THANKS to all my reviewers! ****You have kept my muses fed and happy!**

**A/N - I hope to have the first chapter of Welcome To My Crazy World posted by next FABULOUS FUNDS FRIDAY!**

**Enjoy and DON'T forget to REVIEW!**

* * *

After the drop off, the three team members went back to the hotel to pick up Hardison. He had the gear and luggage piled up upon one of those racks. He was absorbing in a cup of coffee and cheese Danish, with a baseball cap pulled low to kind of keep a low profile. Soon they were on their way to the airport… Tara, Hardison, and Quinn were headed to California. He'd upgraded all four of them on their commercial flights to first class though Sophie was headed to Portland, Oregon. She didn't necessarily have plans to go to Parker's farm, but she might stop in if the thief needed a break. Once Hardison was in the air he decided to check his messages. He hadn't for about a week, at least from his last recollection. He'd been busy with work from Parker and the team. He heard several messages from his wife asking him to call her. So he did…

"Alec, honey, where are you? We've been waiting here an hour. Daddy's about to flip his lid and go back home with my Mama."

"Huh? Where am I? Where is you, baby?"

"We're here in Portland, at the airport," he heard her say over the line; it wasn't a in a whining tone, but he heard the distress in her voice.

Holy Fuck, he forgot what day it was… Alfie and her parents were coming in early for Thanksgiving and he'd forgotten to pick them up from the airport! And Dammit Hardison himself, he couldn't pick them up! He was on his way to Los Angeles! He'd been busy keeping eyes and ears out for the important players in Parker's game, especially, the Villareagos family; as well as helping Parker, Tara, Quinn, and Sophie. What was he gonna do? He was flying commercial to Los Angeles and he couldn't just turn the plane around… Shit… He was gonna have to think of something to make it up to the three of them.

"Baby, I can't make it. I'm on my way to Los Angeles, I'm workin'."

"What the hell are we supposed to do Alec? How long are you gonna be gone?"

"I don't know, I can't go into details," He sighed. "I'm tryin' to make it home before Thanksgiving. I hadn't counted on them comin' so early baby."

"Where have you been? We've been planning this for weeks, Alec."

"I'm sorry, mah poor brain's been elsewhere."

"Tell you what. I'll rent a car and show them around like you took me to some sights and I'll send 'em home. They can come back out for the holiday."

As soon as he heard where his wife and in laws were, Hardison had inserted a reservation for a rental car for her and paid in advance for it. He also set up reservations at the fanciest hotel in town because they just couldn't stay at his place because he and Alfie hadn't picked a new one out. He hoped that what he'd put in place went quite a bit toward making up for not being there to pick them up.

"Baby, there's a reservation for you at the nearest Hertz counter. After that, there's a reservation at the Morocco Deluxe Suites, off of Market and Mason. I'll try to get home as soon as I can. I love you baby and promise I can talk about it when I get home."

"Thanks… But we're gonna have to set up some ground rules homey. I am not going to be left alone for long periods, you got me?"

"You're right, we'll talk," Hardison knew he had to give her a little more information into his job without giving it all away, like he was a professional hacker and that he worked with four other criminals just like him…

* * *

Eliot had gone back to sleep after his call to Vance. He felt a little better knowing that Mike was going to be tailing Parker… And to know that Michael Westen was going to be there as well; at least he felt Parker would be in the best sets of hands for watching her, the next best thing to his own. However, he knew something could still go wrong. And then suddenly, there she was, busting into his room to wake him for breakfast wearing… THAT! He almost wanted to get up, casts be damned, and strangle her. She was driving him crazy! He should have known that the crazy blond was trying to make him just as crazy as her.

'God… Is she seriously trying to kill me,' the hitter thought as he tried to focus on something other than how damn good she looked in that white bikini.

And she brought him food… Looked damn interesting… By his guestimation, the sandwich had to be at least four inches high.

'Yeah, that's it, focus on the food, focus on the food,' he thought.

Well then he wanted to know why she was wearing what she had on. And true to Parker's nature, she'd told him that she was pretending it was tropical and warm outside… He should have known.

"Parker, you gotta cover up. You can't keep dressing up like that," he tried to reason with her.

"Why?" She asked like a silly five year old.

"Because you could catch cold and get sick Parker. At the very least, end up with hypo-freakin'-thermia."

"Well here, I made breakfast," she said as she bent over him just slightly as she placed the tray over his lap and he got a whiff of…

'Ohh, was that cinnamon and sugar?' He thought as he tried to turn his eyes away from the way her breasts nearly popped out of that bikini top.

Eliot wondered if now, she was trying to be cleverly sexual with him. It wasn't subtle any more, not with all the bikini's and trying to smell nice around him. She wasn't touching him, but she was finding ways around the no touching rule… And it didn't make sense to him, why was she pretending it was warm and tropical? It wasn't making him feel any better… But then his mind told him, that she was trying to trap him… His heart told him that he thought it would be adorable if she dressed like that when she became his baby. Then he reckoned, he'd never let her out of his bed if she got up every morning during the winter and served him breakfast in bed like that… He could eat and then unwrap his second breakfast. His mind fought back again.

'We must have control, Eliot. We are in control… Not that weak heart down there.'

"I'll be back in a bit. Got things to do and people to call," she spoke softly.

"Parker, tell me what's goin' on," he asked in a kind of pleading tone.

"Not now, Sparky, your food's gettin' cold. Eat up," then she actually sidestepped his plea and skipped like a little girl out of the room as if she heard a song he couldn't hear, the door closed behind her.

The hitter sighed in frustration and took a bite of the monster sandwich. It was interesting… He'd never had an egg sandwich like that before… He had his own style with lots of ham, egg, and cheese. And then he got bit by the culinary bug again. Eliot began to miss being in the kitchen with the tools of his craft. As the man ate he picked out the flavors of spices on the potatoes and appreciated that the salt wasn't too strong, well really, nothing of the things he tasted were overly seasoned. He wondered if Parker might let him back in the kitchen once he got the casts off; at the very least he could lean against a counter or sit on something to help out. Eliot agreed with himself that the wheelchair was too low to be able to reach the counter or cutting board. He sighed; he was ready to be out of the chair permanently.

* * *

Parker went up to her room and changed before she went to the kitchen to have her breakfast. She smiled as she had planned to wear another bikini for lunch; in fact it was almost a full costume that she had planned to wear. After eating and putting the pan in the sink along with her plate into the dishwasher, she headed out to clean up the Halloween part of the decorations. She went to her barn and up to her office for a harness and some rope to go repel down the roof to get the decoration there. After that she went over to the farm house and repelled off that roof to get that decoration as well. Fortunately, she didn't go all the way down and surprised Eliot in his room. Instead she climbed back up and into her bedroom window. Then after that she went out to the porch and grabbed the mummy off the porch swing, she'd named Bob, and took everything out to the main barn where the horses would be housed in soon. On the way back to the main house, Parker felt her phone vibrate in one of the pockets of her overalls. She pulled it out and checked the screen.

[GriftRUs: In town now, darling. Team should B in LA now. S.]

[SpiderMonkey: Great. Got 2 C bro and met Eliot's dad, last night. P.]

[GriftRUs: Brilliant, how is he this morning? S.]

[SpiderMonkey: Okay, I guess. Have feeling he's bored. Do me a favor? P.]

[GriftRUs: Anything. I'm unpacking now. S.]

[SpiderMonkey: B here on the morning of the 7th. He's gonna need someone here. P.]

[GriftRUs: Where R U going again? S.]

[SpiderMonkey: California with Alec, Tara, and Quinn. P.]

[GriftRUs: I will B there. Just B careful, Parker. S.]

[SpiderMonkey: I'm fine. Nate and the others should B back around the same time. P.]

[GriftRUs: I miss Nate too much already. S.]

[SpiderMonkey: Thanks. P.]

* * *

Fiona stretched out like a cat on Michael's burgundy red flannel sheets. She hadn't been able to sit still at all since Parker had called. She supposed it was the excitement from just the sheer size of firepower she wanted to bring and the stuff she was going to get to blow up. She'd kept it to herself all morning while Michael and Sam were off gathering some information on another job. Her fingertips itched as the energy pulsed through her nerves. It took her a few minutes to get Parker's plan on paper and she began laying the outline for what she wanted to do on some scratch paper on Michael's desk. Then she grabbed her keys and headed for her hoard of weapons she secretly kept in the city. When she got back, the guys were still gone. She spread, laid out the weapons, timers, and explosives all over the concrete floor. Then she brought out duffle bags, packed them with what she needed from each section, and then labeled it.

* * *

Michael suddenly came home and found six fairly large duffel bags in the middle of the room. He came in as Sam was taking care of locking up the car in the yard.

"Fi," he drawled, "What's all this?"

"Nothin' really… I'm taking a side job."

"Doing what?"

"Blowing shit up for Parker."

He realized that it was time to let the cat out of the bag… So he sat down on a stool next to his desk and began to fill Fiona and Sam in on the details of what he knew about her latest job right down to Parker's interest in Eliot Spencer. After that, the three of them got on a flight to Los Angeles, California…


End file.
